Maharashtra Imam Zakir Sayyed Khaja, Beaten, Beard Cut Off For Refusing To Chant Jai Shri Ram While He Was Reading The Quran
New Age Islam News Bureau
28 March 2023
Zakir Sayyed Khaja, an Imam at a mosque in
Maharashtra's Jalna district was beaten up and his beard cut off for refusing
to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'. (India Today photo)
---------
• Pakistan-Origin Humza Yousaf Becomes Scotland's 1st
Muslim Leader, Vows To Revive Independence
• Community Development Ministry Of Malaysia Mulls
Mandatory Prenuptial Courses For Non-Muslims
• Turkey’s Ruling Alliance Welcomes Islamist Parties
With Misogynist Agendas
• Saudi Crown Prince, In Talks With Chinese President,
Recognizes Beijing’s Role In Renewal Of Ties With Iran
India
• Minority Community Leaders, Who Are Engaged In A
Dialogue With The Organisation, Urge RSS To Speak Against Attacks On Muslims
• Plea In Kerala HC Against Move To Sound Siren To
Alert Muslims On Ending Fast
• New Dress Code For Mecca And Shahi Masjid Employees
In Telangana On The Lines Of The Cleaning Staff At The Grand Mosque In Mecca,
Saudi Arabia
• Islamophobic Speech: Muslims Compared To Snakes,
Call For Akhand Bharat At Digital Hindu Conclave at Bhopal
• UP: After objection to Taraweeh in Moradabad, notice
sent to Muslim family
--------
Europe
• French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Rebukes
Colleague For Attending Mosque Opening
• Australian soldier charged over Afghan killing freed
on bail
--------
Southeast Asia
• Philippines arrests suspected Sikh separatists in
first Khalistan detection
• Govt allows retailers to sell used imported clothes
during Ramadan
• Man allegedly misappropriated about $470k paid to
firm for Islamic religious pilgrimage
• Beijing’s Opponents ‘May Not Allow’ Alliance With
Pakistan
• Attacks On Anwar’s Saudi Visit Are ‘All About Malay
Votes’
• More than 180 Rohingya Muslims arrive by boat in
Indonesia's Aceh
--------
Mideast
• Hamas: Israel's Expulsion Of Muslim Worshipers From
Aqsa Mosque Amounts To Religious War
• Iran strongly condemns desecration of Holy Qur'an,
says it only foments extremism, violence
• Israeli Embassy In US Ends Strike After Netanyahu
About-Face
• Israeli PM Netanyahu says delaying judicial overhaul
to avoid ‘civil war’
• Yemeni leaders vow to resist renewed Houthi assault
• Hamas: Resistance capable of deterring potential
Israeli aggression
• Israeli troops, extremists storm al-Aqsa mosque,
force out Muslim worshipers
--------
Arab World
• 1,300-year-old Al-Safa Mosque in Al-Baha to be
renovated
• Lebanon’s cabinet reverses decision to delay daylight’s
savings
• Iraq changes electoral laws, sparking anger from
opposition
• How Arab-Islamic Migration, Language And Culture
Shaped Modern Latin America
• Saudi crown prince, Iraqi PM discuss cooperation
--------
Pakistan
• Thaw In KSA-Iran Ties To Benefit Pakistan: Ashrafi
• Scathing Note Torpedoes CJP’s Order In Election Suo
Motu
• PTI lawmakers return to parliament with noisy
protest
• Al Aqsa raid, desecration incident in Denmark
condemned
• India And Pakistan Invited ForUS Democracy Summit: Report
• PTI slams interior minister for 'incendiary' remarks
against Imran Khan
• Govt will never surrender to Imran’s wishes: Saad
Rafique
--------
South Asia
• Suicide Bomber Kills 6 People Near Foreign Ministry
In Kabul
• Despite Recent Diplomatic Efforts, Pakistan-Taliban
Ties Face More Challenges
• Education, Civil Society Activist MatiullahWesa,
Detained by Taliban
• Afghan Security Forces Kill Senior IS-K Leaders in
Afghanistan
• Private Afghan University Sells its Library Due to
Financial Issues
• UN Condemns Attack Near Afghan Foreign Ministry in
Kabul
• Japan Contributes $21 Million for Life-Saving
Vaccines in Afghanistan
--------
Africa
• UN Rights Investigator Says EU Aided And Abetted
Abuse Of Migrants In Libya
• If Tunisia is not helped, Muslim Brotherhood may
‘create instability’: Italian FM
• Burkina Faso blocks France 24 broadcasts over
al-Qaeda interview
• Violent protests in Kenya leave 1 dead, property
damaged
• Libya: Haftar's army chief arrives in Tripoli to
hold military meetings
--------
North America
• Canada Gov't Report Calls For Training To Stop Tax
Bias Toward Muslim Charities
• Khalilzad does not speak for Biden administration:
US State Dept official
• US will not back off Syria mission despite deadly
attacks: White House
• Canada imposes new sanctions against Iran over
protests, drones
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Maharashtra Imam Zakir Sayyed Khaja, Beaten, Beard Cut
Off For Refusing To Chant Jai Shri Ram While He Was Reading The Quran
Mar 28, 2023
Zakir Sayyed Khaja, an Imam at a mosque in
Maharashtra's Jalna district was beaten up and his beard cut off for refusing
to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'. (India Today photo)
-----------
An Imam who led the prayer at a mosque in
Maharashtra's Anwa village was attacked by unidentified individuals who entered
the place of worship and beat him up for refusing to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'.
Speaking to India Today, the Imam, Zakir Sayyed Khaja, said the incident took
place on Sunday at around 7.30 pm when he was sitting inside the mosque reading
the Quran.
Unidentified individuals entered the mosque with cloth
over their faces and forced the Imam to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' while he was
reading the Quran. When the Imam refused to do as he was told, three
individuals took him outside the mosque and beat him up. The Imam said his
attackers used a chemical-laced cloth to make him unconscious. When he regained
consciousness, he realized that his beard had been cut off.
When people arrived at the mosque for the prayer at 8
pm, they found him lying outside in an unconscious state. They rushed him to a
government hospital in Sillod. He was later shifted to the Government Medical
College and Hospital (GMCH) in Aurangabad where he is currently undergoing
treatment.
After the incident came to light, police arrived at
Anwar village where the mosque is located and started investigating the case. A
case was registered at the Paradh police station in Bhokardan against the
unidentified individuals under Sections 452 (trespassing after preparation for
hurt, assault), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 34 (criminal
act by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC).
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi also took to social
media to demand Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister DevendrFadnavis to take
strict action against the attackers.
Following the incident, security has been tightened in
the village and a large number of police personnel has been deployed to
maintain the peace in the area.
Source:IndiaToday
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Pakistan-Origin Humza Yousaf Becomes Scotland's 1st
Muslim Leader, Vows To Revive Independence
Mar 28, 2023
Humza Yousaf speaks was elected as the new Scottish
National Party leader. (Photo: Reuters)
-----------
Humza Yousaf beat his competitors on Monday to become
the head of the governing Scottish National Party (SNP). The 37-year-old became
the first Muslim leader of a major UK political party and also the first Muslim
to lead a country in Western Europe. In his victory speech, Humza Yousaf said
he will deliver Scotland's independence.
"The people of Scotland need independence now,
more than ever before and we will be the generation that delivers
independence," he was quoted as saying by Reuters in his victory speech.
He also talked about his grandparents who arrived in Scotland from Pakistan in
the 1960s, barely speaking any English, and said they would not have believed
"in their wildest dreams" that their grandson would one day become
first minister of Scotland.
"We should all take pride in the fact that today
we have sent a clear message: that your colour of skin or, indeed, your faith,
is not a barrier to leading the country that we all call home," Yousaf
said.
As Yousaf gave his victory speech and paid tribute to
his grandparents, his wife and mother were captured brushing away tears,
reported news agency AFP.
Yousaf said as Scotland's leader, his focus will be on
tackling the cost of living crisis, ending the divisions in the party, and
making a renewed push for independence.
RACE FOR SCOTLAND'S NEW LEADER
Humza Yousaf beat Kate Forbes and Ash Regan to succeed
Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader. He will take over as head of the semi-autonomous
government once he wins an approval vote in the Scottish parliament.
The contest between the three candidates exposed deep
divisions in the SNP over policy and a stalled independence campaign. The
party's unity broke down over arguments on how to achieve a second independence
referendum and the best way to introduce social reforms such as transgender
rights.
After winning the election, Yousaf said his own
experience as an ethnic minority means he will fight to protect the rights of
all minorities, including gay and transgender people.
Yousaf has a rough road ahead after taking over the
SNP's leadership. The party's central policy is to end Scotland's
three-centuries-long union with England. His predecessor stepped down after the
British government repeatedly blocked a route to a new vote on independence.
WHO IS HUMZA YOUSAF?
Yousaf is the son of first-generation immigrants. His
father was born in Pakistan and his mother was born into a family of Punjabi
descent in Kenya. He attended a private school in Glasgow and studied politics
at Glasgow University.
He worked in a call centre before becoming an aide to
Alex Salmond, former first minister of Scotland. He was elected to the Scottish
Parliament as an additional member for the Glasgow region in 2011. After his
win, Yousaf took his oath in English and Urdu.
The next year, he entered the Scottish cabinet,
serving various roles, with the latest one being the country's health
secretary.
He married former SNP worker Gail Lythgoe in 2010, but
they divorced seven years later. He married his second wife Nadia El-Nakla in
2019.
Source:IndiaToday
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Community Development Ministry Of Malaysia Mulls
Mandatory Prenuptial Courses For Non-Muslims
27 Mar 2023
Aiman Athirah Sabu said the proposed committee to
study the mandatory premarriage courses for non-Muslims will make the
recommendations before a decision is taken.
-----------
KUALA LUMPUR: The government is looking at the
feasibility of having pre-marriage courses for non-Muslim couples, the Dewan
Negara was told today.
Deputy women, family and community development
minister AimanAthirah Sabu said the ministry was in the process of drafting a
proposal paper to establish a committee to study its feasibility.
She said the committee would propose suitable
programmes to be presented to the Cabinet in the near future for a final
decision.
Aiman said this when winding up the debate session on
the motion of thanks for the royal address in the Dewan Negara.
She was replying to Senator AknanEhtook, who proposed
that non-Muslim couples undergo a pre-marriage course before tying the knot.
Meanwhile, commenting on the lack of officers and
staff from the social welfare department (JKM) at temporary relief centres
during the recent floods in several states, Aiman said the department had taken
steps to address this issue through community empowerment.
“JKM had taken the initiative to appoint community
leaders, heads of local agencies, school principals, head teachers and other
community volunteers as supervisors, committee members and staff at relief
centres.”
Source:Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Turkey’s ruling alliance welcomes Islamist parties
with misogynist agendas
Andrew Wilks
March 27, 2023
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) addresses a
statement next to a screen showing listening members of the Council of
Ministers (R) after a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex, Ankara,
Turkey, Dec. 26, 2022. - Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images
-------------
ISTANBUL — Two Islamist parties have signed up to
support Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s electoral alliance, putting a
law on violence against women under threat and challenging the wider rights of
women and the LGBTQ community.
In a U-turn over the weekend, the New Welfare Party
(YRP) was officially admitted into the People’s Alliance led by Erdogan’s
Justice and Development Party (AKP). The alliance also includes two far-right
parties.
The Free Cause Party, known as Huda-Par, announced on
Friday that it would field candidates under the AKP’s list in the parliamentary
election being held alongside a presidential vote on May 14.
Prior to throwing their support behind the People’s
Alliance, both the YRP and Huda-Par had insisted their backing was conditional
on amending Law 6284 on the prevention of violence against women and children.
In a list of 30 demands, the YRP also called for the closure of LGBTQ
associations.
“The memorandum of understanding, in which the
principles that we demanded as the New Welfare Party are written, was signed by
the [parties’] general secretaries,” YRP leader Fatih Erbakan said Friday.
Law 6284 was passed in 2012, a year after Turkey
ratified the Istanbul Convention to protect women against violence. Erdogan
signed a presidential decree in March 2021 to withdraw from the Council of
Europe convention.
In a copy of the agreement between the AKP and YRP
published by journalist Ismail Saymaz, the parties pledge to “prevent
perversions against our moral values” and reevaluate existing laws to “protect
the integrity of the family.”
The document also mentions alimony payments, calling
for changes to “eliminate grievances in society.”
Ali Ihsan Yavuz, the AKP’s deputy chair and head of
electoral affairs, told broadcaster CNN Turk on Monday that there had been “no
abnormal proposal by the New Welfare Party on women’s rights. … Our president
is very meticulous about this issue.”
He added, “What we have accepted is just a memorandum
of understanding [on what] the New Welfare Party is sensitive to.”
The inclusion of the YRP and Huda-Par under the
alliance’s umbrella came despite protests among female AKP officials.
OzlemZengin, deputy chair of the AKP’s parliamentary
group, described Law 6284 as a “red line” while Family and Social Services
Minister DeryaYanik said it was “unacceptable … that even its existence is open
to discussion.” Zengin said she had received “hundreds of threatening messages”
following her remarks.
Dilek Bulut of the Left Feminist Movement said the
discussion of amending Law 6284 would make women more vulnerable to violence.
“In an environment where violence and discrimination
against women is increasing and becoming savage every day, those who annulled
the Istanbul Convention have now revealed their true faces by making Law 6284 a
subject of negotiation,” she said.
Lawyer GokcecicekAyata, of the Women’s Platform for
Equality, agreed the debate would fuel misogynist violence. “With this
protocol, they encourage and incite the perpetrators of violence,” she said.
“In a country where at least three women are killed every day, the People’s
Alliance is opening to question the rights of women of all political views,
from 7 to 70, for the sake of their own success. It’s not just 6284; they
oppose the right to alimony, civil law, equality and women’s right to life.”
Ties to Huda-Par, meanwhile, brought other
considerations, namely its roots in the Kurdish Hizbollah movement.
Hizbollah, which is entirely unconnected to the Shiite
Lebanese group of the same name, sprang up in the 1990s from Sunni Islamist
groups in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast.
It became one of the groups most associated with
violence of its era, waging attacks including assassinations on members of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Turkish security forces and civilians such
as secularist journalists.
Due to its opposition to the PKK, Hizbollah was widely
believed to be backed by elements of the military and police.
Its influence waned after a police raid on an Istanbul
safe house in 2000 in which the group’s leader was killed. The police also
seized documents detailing membership and footage of torture sessions and
murders, leading to hundreds of arrests.
Links to terrorism, however, were brushed aside by
Erdogan’s ally DevletBahceli, who heads the Nationalist Movement Party.
“The Free Cause Party completely rejected terrorism
and shared with our nation that it has no ties to any illegal organization,”
said Bahceli, who frequently accuses the opposition of supporting the PKK.
“There has never been a clear relationship between the Hizbollah terrorist
organization and the Free Cause Party, and within this framework, there has
been no convincing and substantiating information up to now.”
SadettinTantan, who served as interior minister from
1999 to 2001, insisted that Bahceli, as deputy prime minister during the same
period, was “one of the names who know best that Huda-Par is the political
extension of Hizbollah.”
Source:AlMonitor
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Saudi crown prince, in talks with Chinese president,
recognizes Beijing’s role in renewal of ties with Iran
March 28, 2023
RIYADH: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had a phone
conversation on Tuesday with Chinese president Xi Jinping, where they emphasized
the importance of relations the two countries.
The crown prince also expressed the Kingdom’s
appreciation for the Chinese role and efforts to develop the relations between
Saudi Arabia and Iran, Saudi Press Agency reported.
For his part, the Chinese president praised the
Kingdom’s role in strengthening Beijing’s relations with GCC countries and
countries of the Middle East.
During the call, they reviewed aspects of partnership
between the Kingdom and China, as well as joint efforts to enhance cooperation
between the two countries in various fields.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2276741/saudi-arabia
--------
India
Minority Community Leaders, Who Are Engaged In A
Dialogue With The Organisation, Urge RSS To Speak Against Attacks On Muslims
Ishita Mishra
March 27, 2023
In a letter to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief
Mohan Bhagwat, prominent Muslim leaders and intellectuals, who are engaged in a
dialogue with the organisation to bridge the communication gap between the
minority community and the RSS, said there was virtually no let-up in the
constant barrage of hate speech, calls for genocide and acts of violence
against Muslims.
The group urged Mr. Bhagwat, the Union government and
the State governments to “speak more” condemning the cases of attacks on
Muslims.
Among the representatives of the minority community
were former Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung, former Chief Election
Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, former Aligarh Muslim University Vice-Chancellor
Lieutenant-General Zameer Uddin Shah (retd), Rashtriya Lok Dal national
vice-president Shahid Siddiqui and businessman Saeed Shervani.
Detailing the urgency of writing to Mr. Bhagwat, who
has denied a meeting with the group before June citing previous commitments,
the members pointed out the recent ‘anti-Muslim’ marches in Maharashtra and
Chhattisgarh, which, they claimed, were full of hate and included calls for
boycott of Muslim businesses. In Maharashtra, the hate marches continued for
months, they said in the letter dated March 23.
There are reports that a right-wing organisation,
Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha, has held 50 rallies in Maharashtra since November
2022.
The rallies, which attracted a large number of people,
saw speeches warning Hindus about “Love Jihad”, “Land Jihad” and conversion,
and also called for boycott of Muslims traders and businesses. This came
despite Supreme Court orders against hate speech.
The members of the minority community maintained that
these rallies and speeches happened in the presence of police and that there
was no action. “Even if there is action, it’s perfunctory and people are let
off with ease. This is causing anguish and immense consternation among
Muslims,” they said in the letter.
The letter further mentioned about the group’s meeting
with Mr. Bhagwat in August 2022 after which the two sides decided to hold
continuous dialogue.
The Hindu, in its edition of September 21, 2022,
reported that in their last close-door meeting with Mr. Bhagwat, the RSS chief
asked the members to clear their stand on cow slaughter. He also questioned the
use of terms such as kafir (non-believer) and jihad’ (holy war) against Hindus
and suggested that they be avoided. At the same meeting, the members of the
group shared the pain of being dubbed as deshdrohis (anti-national) for
activities that are simply part of freedom of expression.
After the meeting, Mr. Bhagwat asked RSS joint general
secretary Krishna Gopal and senior leaders Indresh Kumar and Ram Lal to take
forward the discussion. The RSS delegation and the members of the group held a
follow-up meeting in January in which concerns and expectations of both sides
were discussed.
The group maintained that they had met various
influential Muslim leaders and groups, including the Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind, the
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Firangi Mahal, and all of them appreciated the efforts
and idea of reaching out to the RSS for dialogue.
“Today, there is a sense of dismay and a question on
the usefulness of our efforts,” they said in the letter.
Underlining the RSS’s credibility and desire for
nation building, the group quoted Mr. Bhagwat telling them that “nation
building will not be possible if we do not take along all sections, including
the minorities that constitute 20% of India”.
“Therefore, under the circumstances, it is absolutely
imperative that voices such as yours, as indeed from senior echelons of the Sangh,
are heard loud and clear to condemn such acts and to clear our country of
communal discord and speak of love and harmony,” the letter added.
The group maintained that whenever Mr. Bhagwat had
spoken on attacks on minorities, the impact was noticed. The members urged the
RSS chief to speak more. They also urged the Union government and the State
governments to take the strictest possible action against those who seem
committed to harm India through discord.
Source: TheHindu
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Plea In Kerala HC Against Move To Sound Siren To Alert
Muslims On Ending Fast
March 27, 2023
A petition was filed on Monday before the Kerala High
Court challenging the Changanassery municipal secretary’s directive to its
staff to sound a siren at 6.30 p.m. every day from March 23 to April 21 to
alert the Muslim community about end of Ramzan fast.
The petition was filed by Christian Association and
Alliance for Social Action (CASA). According to it, the municipal secretary
issued the order on a request made by the Puthoor Pally Muslim Jamaath and
deputed one of its contingent workers and a supervisor respectively to ring the
siren and supervise it. The petitioner pointed out that fasting during Ramzan
was purely an Islamic ritual and it was not a State or a national festival.
Cost of exchequer
Source: TheHindu
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
New Dress Code For Mecca And Shahi Masjid Employees In
Telangana On The Lines Of The Cleaning Staff At The Grand Mosque In Mecca,
Saudi Arabia
Mar 27, 2023
HYDERABAD: The Telangana minorities welfare department
has introduced a uniform dress code for all the staff members of Mecca Masjid
and Shahi Masjid.
The dress code is on the lines of the uniform for the
cleaning staff at the grand mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
All the employees of the mosque in Old City have been
provided with the new uniforms and identification cards to give them a
professional look and ensure discipline in providing services.
Thousands of people visit the 16-century Mecca Masjid,
which is one of the largest mosques in India, and it is difficult to
differentiate between the employees and visitors. The new dress code will help
in identifying employees easily and easy delivery of help to visitors.
B Shafiullah, IFS, commissioner of minorities welfare,
introduced the dress code policy.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Islamophobic Speech: Muslims Compared To Snakes, Call
For Akhand Bharat At Digital Hindu Conclave at Bhopal
27th March 2023
Leaders from the ruling BJP delivered Islamophobic
speech in full swing at the recently concluded Digital Hindu Conclave held on
March 18.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, Kajal Shingala aka Kajal
Hindusthani and far-right author KshitijPatukale compared minorities,
particularly those belonging to Muslim community, to snakes, distorted history
by calling for violence as the only way to attain Akhand Bharat besides raising
the topic of Love Jihad.
Kajal Shingala said that there can never be
brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims and called out those who support
secularism and peace between the two communities as a “sinking ship”.
“I want to let these people who have one leg on the
Hindu boat and the other on a Muslim boat, you are going to drown,” she said.
She stressed that the making of Hindu Rashtra is
inevitable and no one can stop them. “They (Muslims) kept shouting against Ram
Mandir. But we succeeded and now it will be completed by next year. Similarly,
I am confident that we will achieve success by creating a Hindu Rashtra and
that day is not far away,” she said.
Without mentioning names, Kajal referred to Shah Rukh
Khan’s recent visit to Vaishno Devi temple before the release of his movie
Pathaan as well as Aamir Khan’s photograph doing Kalash pooja.
“We will make sure each one of them undergoes
gharvaapsi,” she said.
GharVaapsi is a Hindutva programme meant to convert
those belonging to other religions to Hinduism. it is conducted by right-wing
organsationsVishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),
Bajrang Dal, and their allies.
She also alleged that the Waqf board is forcibly
snatching land from the Hindus. “You people came some 1,400 years before. We
have been here forever. How can you claim this is your land?” she said.
She also spoke highly about the bulldozer culture
introduced by the Yogi Adityanath government. “Such large-scale demolitions of
Muslim homes have never been recorded in Indian history,” she said proudly.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra spoke about Love Jihad. Taking
the recent murder of Shraddha Walker, whose live-in partner Aftab Poonawala
stored her chopped body in a refrigerator, he said, “There will come a day when
we will see ads like keep fruits in the fridge, not ‘Shraddha’.”
Source: Siasat Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
UP: After objection to Taraweeh in Moradabad, notice
sent to Muslim family
27th March 2023
After a group of right-wing organisation men objected
to the offering of Taraweeh prayers by some Muslims in Lajpat Nagar of
Moradabad district, the city magistrate issued a notice to Zakir Hussain and
nine others.
On Saturday night, Rashtriya Bajrang Dal men barged
into the house of Zakir Hussain, led by its state president Rohan Saxena, who
was praying along with his family. He alleged that this was creating an
atmosphere of panic nearby.
“We have repeatedly asked the police to lodge FIRs
against violent people (referring to the Muslim community),” Saxena told
reporters.
Siasat.com spoke to the SHO of Katghar police station
who declined to comment on the issue.
On Tuesday, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP),
Moradabad Hemraj Meena, while speaking to reporters said that upon
investigation, police found out the information received by Saxena was false.
“Both communities had a land dispute. On investigation,
we found that false information was being spread. Taking action, people from
both sides have been bound down,” the SSP told reporters.
Source: Siasat Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Europe
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen rebukes
colleague for attending mosque opening
27 March, 2023
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's leading
far-right party, has reportedly rebuked a colleague for attending the
inauguration of a mosque last week.
Joris Hébrard, an MP for Rassemblement National
(National Rally), attended the opening of the mosque in Le Pontet, a southern
French city he was once mayor of.
The mosque was festooned with French and Turkish
flags, the latter due to the city's large Turkish population, during its launch.
An image of Hébrard at the mosque shows him alongside
someone who is reportedly a Turkish government-linked official.
His attendance at the ceremony clearly displeased Le
Pen, whose party has tried to appear "moderate" but has demanded the
introduction of discriminatory laws against French Muslims, dictating what they
can wear in public and closing down mosques.
Le Pen said on Hébrard's appearance at the Muslim
place of worship "is a personal initiative that I very clearly disapprove
of" and that she hadn't been notified he would be attending, Le Monde
reported.
Marion Maréchal, Le Pen's niece and a member of the
rival far-right Reconquête party, also hit out at Hébrard's attendance.
"I am extremely disappointed and scandalised by
the inauguration of the Turkish mosque in Pontet by National Rally deputy
@Joris_Hebrard," she tweeted.
Le Pen and her party have been accused of stoking
Islamophobia in their political campaigning.
She has called for a ban on the hijab in public and
once shockingly compared Muslims praying on the streets of France to the Nazi
occupation, when tens of thousands of French, including around 74,000 Jewish
citizens and residents, were murdered.
Although she has been widely condemned for her views
internationally, she has performed well in national elections and saw a recent
boost over opposition to President Emmanuel Macron's planned pension reforms.
In the run-off of the last presidential elections, Le
Pen lost to Macron but still managed to attract 14 million voters.
Source: The New Arab
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.newarab.com/news/marine-le-pen-rebukes-far-right-colleague-mosque-opening
--------
Australian soldier charged over Afghan killing freed
on bail
March 28, 2023
SYDNEY: A former elite soldier charged with murder for
allegedly killing an unarmed man in Afghanistan was released on bail Tuesday by
a magistrate who concluded he would face danger from Muslim extremists in
prison.
Oliver Schulz, 41, had been in custody since his
arrest in rural New South Wales state last week on the war crime of murder.
His lawyer Phillip Boulten applied for bail in
Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court on Monday, arguing the former Special Air
Service Regiment trooper faced serious risks to his personal safety from Muslim
extremists in the prison system and had to be segregated from other inmates.
“Wherever this man is going to be held in prison, he
is likely to have to mix with people in prison who sympathize with the Taliban
or with other Islamic extremist groups,” Boulten said.
Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson granted the request,
agreeing the risks posed to him while behind bars were too great.
“It’s possible to infer that there may be some people
being held there who may take an adverse position in relation to what was said
to be the accused’s behavior both as a member of the (Australian Defense Force)
and also on the day the incident allegedly occurred,” Atkinson told the court.
Schulz had been held at a maximum-security prison in
Goulburn, 200 kilometers southwest of Sydney. Most of New South Wales’ worst
convicted terrorists are held at Goulburn.
Helmet camera footage aired by Australian Broadcasting
Corp. in 2020 that was shot in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan Province in 2012 will form
part of the prosecution case.
The footage allegedly shows Schulz shoot local man Dad
Mohammad three times as he lay on his back in a wheat field with his hands and
knees raised. His father later made a complaint to the Australian Defense Force
alleging his son had been shot in the head.
Atkinson said that because of the murder allegation,
Schulz would be in a “very difficult if not dangerous environment” in custody
and correctional staff could not be available 24 hours a day to supervise him.
“I am of the view that the position the accused finds
himself in could be worse than other persons who are on remand given the
particular security risks to his person,” she said.
Schulz would also have difficulties giving advice to
his lawyers and accessing confidential material under strict conditions due to
national security concerns surrounding the case if he were forced to do so
behind bars, Atkinson said.
The court has suppressed the names of the town and
region where Schulz lives to protect his family from threats.
After footage of the Afghanistan shooting was
broadcast nationally, the then-Defense Minister Linda Reynolds referred the
allegation to the Australian Federal Police.
Schulz was suspended from duty in 2020 and later
discharged from the Australia Defense Force on medical grounds.
Schulz, who was awarded the Commendation for Gallantry
for his service in Afghanistan, is the first former or serving Australian
Defense Force member to face a war crime charge of murder under domestic law.
He faces a potential life sentence in prison if
convicted.
He is among 19 current and former Australian special
forces soldiers who a war crimes investigation found could face charges for
illegal conduct in Afghanistan.
A military report released in 2020 after a four-year
investigation found evidence that Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan
prisoners, farmers and civilians.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2276721/world
--------
Southeast Asia
Philippines arrests suspected Sikh separatists in
first Khalistan detection
March 27, 2023
MANILA/NEW DELHI: Philippine authorities have arrested
suspected members of a Sikh separatist group banned in India, a government
agency announced on Monday, as demands for an independent Sikh homeland are
rising abroad.
Officers from the Philippine Bureau of Immigration,
the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center and the Military
Intelligence Group arrested three suspected members of the Khalistan Tiger
Force in the central Philippine city of Iloilo on March 7, the CICC said in a
statement issued Monday.
“It is out of the ordinary, their presence here,” CICC
Executive Director Alexander K. Ramos told Arab News.
The three suspects are all Indian nationals in their
20s, who were named in a red notice issued by the global police agency Interpol,
Ramos said. They are currently in the custody of the Philippine military.
“It appears they are a group. In fact, there may be
more that we are still trying to track down. This is the first time that the
Khalistanis were detected here,” he added.
Their group KTF supports a movement banned in India
known as Khalistan, which calls for an independent Sikh homeland and was known
as a violent separatist movement in the 1980s and early 1990s, then prompting a
controversial military operation by the Indian government that killed thousands
of people.
The Philippine development follows Indian police
launching on March 21 a manhunt in Punjab province for Sikh preacher Amritpal
Singh, who has captured national attention and revived talks of Khalistan.
The crackdown has triggered fresh demands abroad for
an independent Sikh state, including protesters gathering in front of Indian
missions in Canada and the UK this month, which has sparked concerns from
Indian authorities.
Though recent developments are stoking fears of a
return to the violence that occurred decades ago, the Khalistan movement does
not have much support within India, said Delhi-based counterterrorism expert
Ajai Sahni.
Sahni said Khalistan supporters are most active in
Canada and the UK, but they also have a presence in the US, across Europe, and
even in Malaysia and the Philippines.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2276551/world
--------
Govt
allows retailers to sell used imported clothes during Ramadan
Jakarta
(ANTARA) - Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises
(MenKopUKM) TetenMasduki and Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan agreed to give
leeway to retailers or resellers to sell imported used clothing during Ramadan
and Eid.
"The
authority lies with the minister of trade, and the minister of trade said,
traders, who still have goods that they have bought from these smugglers, are
still allowed to sell them," Masduki stated during a press conference in
Jakarta, Monday.
Although
he strictly prohibits the import and sale of used clothing, including selling
it in e-commerce platforms, he said the government had agreed to postpone the
action against small traders. Currently, he affirmed that the government will
first stop the smuggling of imported used clothing, including imported used
footwear.
"Especially
in this fasting month, they still have to earn a living, right? We have a
compromise there. Now, what we agreed with the minister of trade is that we
need to be stricter, so there will be no smuggling," he emphasized.
Although
they still have permission to sell used imported clothes for a while, Minister
Masduki urged traders to have the awareness to switch to legal products, such
as those owned by MSMEs.
"We
urge them to have their own awareness. The government's goal is quite good,
right? How to protect local fashion producers, who have been selling their
products in the domestic market and have been hit hard by imported products and
also used clothes," he stated.
He
further said that through a special hotline service for business actors
affected by the ban on the import of illegally used clothing, several traders
had requested that they be facilitated with legal substitute products that they
could sell.
Responding
to this request, KemenKopUKM and Smesco are preparing several lists of
MSME-owned clothing, footwear, and cosmetics manufacturers, who will become
suppliers of merchandise to replace imported used clothing.
On
the same occasion, Director of Business and Marketing of Smesco Indonesia
Wientor Rah Mada appealed to traders, affected by the ban on the import of
illegally used clothing, to immediately report via the hotline number, so they
can be matched with local products that can be sold.
Source: AntaraNews
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Man
allegedly misappropriated about $470k paid to firm for Islamic religious
pilgrimage
ShaffiqAlkhatib
MAR
27, 2023
SINGAPORE
- A man allegedly misappropriated about $470,000 from at least 218 people who
had signed up for a package to perform the umrah – an Islamic religious
pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
SuwandiMarchuke,
55, is claiming trial to multiple charges, including one count of criminal
breach of trust and five counts of intentionally aiding a company called Bil
Hikmah Consultants to carry on the business of a travel agent when it was not
licensed to do so.
Suwandi,
who is also known as Andy Martiin, as well as Datuk Andy Martiin, was declared
bankrupt on Aug 22, 2013.
He
was said to be the sole manager of Bil Hikmah, which was registered in
Singapore on Feb 13, 2014.
Deputy
Public Prosecutors Ryan Lim and Joshua Phang said that the partners of the firm
were Ms Siti RohaniKusno, whom Suwandi had employed in his separate scaffolding
business, and his brother-in-law, MrSulaiman Hussain.
The
DPPs told the court that both were partners in name only and played no part in
Bil Hikmah’s management.
They
added: “Some time in or before September 2014, the accused, through Bil Hikmah,
began to offer an umrah travel package called (Pakej Umrah Mampu Pergi) Pump
2015.
“The
package included flights and accommodation, with the trip due to take place
from Dec 12 to 22, 2015. Save for Pump 2015, Bil Hikmah offered no other travel
packages and carried out no other activities.”
The
price per person was $1,998, with additional fees payable for extras. There was
also a registration fee of $150.
The
DPPs said that at least 218 people signed up with Bil Hikmah for Pump 2015,
adding that around September 2014 to November 2015, they collectively paid
about $470,000 to the firm.
According
to court documents, the prices for Pump 2015 were substantially less than the
market price for umrah travel packages offered by others, which typically cost
up to $3,500 more.
The
DPPs told District Judge ShaiffudinSaruwan: “On Nov 7, 2015, the accused
announced at a meeting with (the) customers that Pump 2015 would not take place
on the scheduled dates, claiming that there were issues with hotel bookings.
“Multiple
police reports were subsequently made against the accused and Bil Hikmah.”
Suwandi
allegedly misappropriated the collected funds and is accused of using the
monies for business investments.
Source:StraitsTimes
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Beijing’s
Opponents ‘May Not Allow’ Alliance With Pakistan
Anwar
Iqbal
March
28, 2023
WASHINGTON:
Pakistan and China are engaged in a “threshold alliance” but Beijing’s
opponents, particularly the US, may prevent it from becoming a fully-fledged
alliance, says a recent US report.
The
report titled The Future of the China-Pakistan Military Relationship describes
the current status of the China-Pakistan relationship as “a threshold
alliance,” but argues that it may not lead to a fully-fledged future alliance,
“potentially due to China’s own missteps, or due to opponents’ active measures
to arrest the relationship”.
The
author, Sameer P. Lalwani, works for the US Institute of Peace (USIP), a
federal institution with a Congressional mandate.
The
report notes that in 2015, analysts forecast a decline in the China-Pakistan
military ties, citing various reasons. But the same year, President Xi Jinping
visited Pakistan and introduced CPEC as a “flagship” project and announced
sale of eight submarines to Pakistan.
US
report examines ties between ‘iron brothers’
Now,
in less than a decade, the China-Pakistan military relationship has “advanced
from an episodic partnership to a threshold alliance”, the author argues.
The
document claims that Pakistan’s major defence equipment is “increasingly
sourced from China, especially the higher-end combat strike and power
projection capabilities; and Pakistan continues to retire older US- and
European-origin platforms”. But, more is needed for this threshold relationship
to become a fully-fledged one. One indicator would be Beijing granting Pakistan
more military aid and access to sensitive systems such as the J-20 stealth
fighter or nuclear-powered attack submarines.
The
other indication would be their militaries adopting a joint peacetime mission
“to back each other in the event of a China-India or Pakistan-India border
crisis”.
A
final signal might be the Chinese Navy deploying maritime reconnaissance assets
in Gwadar, it says.
The
report, however, notes that both civilian and military leaders have “explicitly
denied that Pakistan is drifting into Beijing’s camp and have eschewed
pressures forcing them to choose between relations with China and the West”.
According
to the report, in China’s and Pakistan’s current political and security
environment, there are several points of friction that could slow or reverse
the current trajectory of their military relationship.
Politically,
China’s treatment of the Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim minority, in Xinjiang Province
could hinder its ties with Pakistan by causing public dissent.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1744608/beijings-opponents-may-not-allow-alliance-with-pakistan
--------
Attacks
on Anwar’s Saudi visit are ‘all about Malay votes’
Elill
Easwaran
28
Mar 2023
PETALING
JAYA: Perikatan Nasional’s attacks on Anwar Ibrahim over his Saudi Arabia visit
are to create doubt among Malay-Muslim voters about Anwar’s standing as a
leader of an Islamic nation, according to a political analyst.
Azmi
Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said PN was trying to portray to Malay-Muslim
voters that Anwar’s failure to obtain an audience with the Saudi king and crown
prince meant that he had not won the respect of the Saudi rulers.
However,
Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said what happened in Saudi Arabia could
also be linked to Anwar’s close ties with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
“What
is happening is that there is competition between the Saudi royal family and
Erdogan to be seen as the leader of the Muslim world,” he said.
Azmi
said Pakatan Harapan had also suffered a negative perception among voters in
2018 because of Dr Mahathir Mohammad’s strained relationship with his Saudi
counterpart.
“PN
is trying to paint an image that Anwar is not getting the respect of Riyadh,
which is considered as the symbol of the Islamic world and also known as the
guardian of Mecca,” he told FMT.
He
said PH could counter the attacks by explaining convincingly why the meeting
between the top leaders did not take place.
Anwar
has been under criticism for failing to meet with King Salman Abdulaziz or
crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is the Saudi prime minister.
Azmi
said PN would play up the lack of an audience as a sign that Anwar is not
recognised as a leader of a Muslim nation.
Awang
Azman said the only way for Anwar to counter his critics would be to ensure he
meets the Saudi leaders during his next visit to give a positive image of his
leadership as prime minister.
“If
King Salman and the crown prince come to visit Malaysia, Anwar’s image in the
eyes of Malay-Muslim voters will be positive,” he said.
On
Sunday, an aide of Anwar brushed off criticism from the opposition which
attempted to paint the visit as a failure and a waste of public funds.
Ahmad
Farhan Fauzi said Anwar’s three-day visit was “fruitful” and had strengthened
bilateral ties between both nations.
Farhan
also said the prime minister had a tight schedule which meant that he was
unable to meet with other leaders of the Saudi Arabian government.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
More
than 180 Rohingya Muslims arrive by boat in Indonesia's Aceh
27
Mar 2023
JAKARTA:
More than 180 Rohingya Muslims landed in Indonesia's Aceh province on Monday
(Mar 27), officials said, the latest among hundreds who have fled by boat from
desperate conditions in Myanmar and in camps in Bangladesh.
The
United Nations refugee agency has said 2022 may have been one of the deadliest
years at sea in almost a decade for the Rohingya, a persecuted religious and
ethnic minority in Myanmar.
A
spokesperson for the local police, Kamil, confirmed by phone that 184 Rohingya
had arrived in East Aceh district and were "all in healthy
condition".
It
was not immediately clear how many vessels they were on.
Miftah
Cut Ade, a senior member of the local fishing community in Aceh, said 90 women
and children were among the migrants, who arrived about 3.30am on Monday.
Many
Rohingya have for years attempted in rickety wooden boats to reach neighbouring
Thailand and Bangladesh, and Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia, especially
between November and April when the seas are calm. An untold number of them
have died at sea from disease, hunger and fatigue.
Since
November last year, Indonesia has registered 918 Rohingya who reached Aceh, its
westernmost region, according to the foreign ministry, having made the journey
south in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. That compared to 180 in the
whole of 2021.
Source:ChannelNewsAsia
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/more-180-rohingya-muslims-arrive-boat-indonesias-aceh-3376541
--------
Mideast
Hamas:
Israel's expulsion of Muslim worshipers from Aqsa Mosque amounts to religious
war
28
March 2023
The
Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has censured the forcible removal of
Muslim worshipers from the al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the holy month of
Ramadan, saying that the move amounts to declaration of a religious war against
Palestinians and is an attempt to change the sacred site’s Islamic identity.
Hamas
spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement on Monday that 50,000 Palestinian
worshipers had performed Tarawih prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque despite restrictions
imposed on their entry to the mosque.
“Such
Israeli measures are part of the Zionist enemy’s failed attempts to impose
spatial and temporal divisions on the holy site,” Abu Zuhri said, calling for
the constant presence of Palestinians at the al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard.
The
Hamas spokesman then held the right-wing Israeli administration led by prime
minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the repercussions of the recurrent
assaults on Muslim worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque.
He
called on Arab and Muslim nations to support Palestinian worshipers while they
defend the mosque, urging the international community to stop Israeli attacks
which are a blatant violation of Palestinians’ right to worship.
On
Sunday, the Grand Mufti of al-Quds Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein slammed the
Israeli police for forcibly expelling Muslim worshipers from al-Aqsa Mosque,
terming the move as a serious violation against Muslims.
He
underlined that such a practice constitutes a provocation to the feelings of
Muslims.
Sheikh
Hussein also condemned plans by extremist groups to launch massive raids into al-Aqsa
Mosque next April to celebrate Jewish holidays.
On
Saturday night, a large number of Israeli police forces stormed the al-Qibli
prayer building at al-Aqsa Mosque and forcibly expelled Muslim worshipers from
it.
Video
from the scene showed Muslim men and women praying, chanting “Allahu Akbar,”
meaning “God is the greatest,” and shouting at police officers as the officers
removed worshipers from the building and the complex.
Palestinians
were blocked from entering the gates of the mosque, according to Palestinian
reports. Footage from some of the gates showed Palestinians scuffling with
Israeli forces who blocked the gates. A number of Palestinians were arrested at
the scene.
Hardline
Israeli legislators and settlers regularly storm the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in
the occupied city, a provocative move that infuriates Palestinians. Such mass
settler break-ins almost always take place at the behest of Tel Aviv-backed
temple groups and under the auspices of the Israeli police in al-Quds.
The
al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses
both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
strongly condemns desecration of Holy Qur'an, says it only foments extremism,
violence
27
March 2023
Iran
has vehemently condemned recent desecration of the Holy Qur'an by a Danish
far-right group while denouncing the silence of so-called advocates of human
rights vis-à-vis such measures.
Foreign
Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani made the remarks on Monday, less than a week
after the extremist and anti-Muslim group known as Patrioterne Gar Live, burnt
a copy of the Qur'an in front of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen.
Warning
about the increased number of insults against the Holy Qur'an and sanctities of
Muslims, Kan'ani denounced the silence of so-called advocates of human rights
in the face of such measures.
"These
measures only pave the way for hate-mongering and extremism and foment
violence, which pose a risk to peace, peaceful coexistence among humans, and
global security," the Iranian spokesman said.
He
added that overlooking the recent insults against Islam in the name of human
rights is totally in contravention to the universal principles of human rights.
"The
Islamic Republic of Iran as well as [other] Muslim countries and nations expect
Danish officials to prevent repetition of such insulting shows under the excuse
of freedom of expression by assuming their responsibility and not permitting
such acts of sacrilege and hate-mongering [to happen again]," Kan'ani
concluded.
His
remarks came as the frequency of insults against Islam and its holy book has
been on the rise in Europe. Several European countries have been playing host
to such despicable acts on their soils over the past months, drawing
far-and-wide condemnation from the world's Muslim countries.
In
January, dual Danish and Swedish citizen Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the
Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, and later again in front
of a mosque.
Days
later in the Netherlands, far-right extremist, Edwin Wagensveld, who leads the
anti-Muslim PEGIDA party, tore a copy of the Quran apart before setting it on
fire.
Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Libya,
among others, issued separate statements, condemning in the strongest terms
desecration of the Holy Qur'an in Denmark. They asserted that such insulting
acts hurt the feelings of the world Muslims during the fasting month of
Ramadan.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/03/27/700540/Iran-Holy-Qur-an-Denmark
--------
Israeli embassy in US ends strike after Netanyahu about-face
27
March ,2023
The
Israeli embassy in Washington ended an hourslong strike on Monday after the
decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone controversial
judicial reform legislation.
Early
Monday morning, the embassy’s spokesman, EladStrohmayer, posted to Twitter that
the embassy was shutting down until further notice and suspending consular
services.
Israeli
diplomats around the world decided to go on strike collectively.
But
in a quick about-face, Netanyahu addressed his country and said he would delay
talks on the legislation until next month.
Moments
after, Strohmayer told reporters that the strike was over and the embassy would
reopen on Tuesday.
The
White House welcomed Netanyahu’s decision and played down fears of nationwide
anti-government protests devolving into a civil war.
Calling
for compromise among Israeli factions, National Security Council Spokesman John
Kirby told reporters that the US was concerned out of respect, friendship and
admiration for the Israeli people and its democracy.
White
House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US welcomed Netanyahu’s
announcement as an “opportunity to create additional time and space for
compromise,” which the US had called for.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israeli
PM Netanyahu says delaying judicial overhaul to avoid ‘civil war’
27
March ,2023
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced a pause to divisive
judicial reforms moving through parliament, after months of street rallies that
drew tens of thousands.
“Out
of a sense of national responsibility, out of a will to prevent a rupture among
our people, I have decided to pause the second and third readings of the bill,”
he told the nation.
He
added he would delay consideration of the bill to the next session of
parliament which begins in the second half of April.
Israeli
President Isaac Herzog earlier Monday had called for an immediate halt to the
legislative process, a day after Netanyahu fired his defense minister Yoav
Gallant for making a similar demand.
That
sparked a general strike call on Monday from Israel's top trade union chief,
Arnon Bar-David, but he called off the action after Netanyahu's address.
“Following
the prime minister's announcement I declare the end of the strike,” Bar-David,
chairman of the Histadrut trade union confederation, said in a statement.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Yemeni
leaders vow to resist renewed Houthi assault
SAEED
AL-BATATI
March
28, 2023
AL-MUKALLA,
Yemen: Yemen’s presidential council has promised to confront the “terrorist”
Houthis and called for resistance as international envoys criticized the
militia’s renewed assault.
The
council, chaired by Rashad Al-Alimi, said the latest Houthi attacks, primarily
in Marib and Shabwa, demonstrated that the militia had no wish to end the war.
It promised to thwart their advances and said it would help people in
Houthi-controlled areas to resist their domination.
“The
council urged the international community to recognize the gravity of this
terrorist escalation, with the continuous smuggling of additional Iranian
weaponry to militias, and the disastrous consequences for world peace and
security,” the council was quoted by the SABA news agency as saying.
It
did not specify how it would respond but pledged to “take all steps necessary
to protect public interests and deter terrorist groups.”
The
eight-man presidential council has faced increasing public pressure to launch
counter-strikes since the militia attacked oil installations in Hadramout and
Shabwa provinces last year.
The
Houthis have made minor advances in Shabwa and Marib since early last week,
targeting government forces with heavy weaponry and explosive drones.
The
Houthis seized some villages in Marib’s Hareb and Shabwa’s Merkhah Al-Ulya
districts before government troops received reinforcements and pushed them
back.
The
militia also attempted to assassinate Taiz Governor NabeilShamsan, targeting
his car with artillery and missiles on Saturday.
Meanwhile,
Western ambassadors in Yemen have condemned the renewed attacks and urged the
Houthis to de-escalate and comply with efforts to end the war.
Richard
Oppenheim, the British ambassador, said the militia must “cease their
provocative actions and show genuine commitment to peace in Yemen.”
Steven
Fagin, the US ambassador, said: “We condemn the recent Houthi escalation in
Taiz and Marib, which led to fatalities, and express our condolences to the
victims' families.
“The
Houthis must stop exacerbating Yemenis’ suffering and support a peaceful
resolution to the conflict.”
Yemeni
government officials say that the Houthi escalation coincided with the eighth
anniversary of the Arab coalition’s military intervention to show that they had
not been defeated.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2276656/middle-east
--------
Hamas:
Resistance capable of deterring potential Israeli aggression
27
March 2023
The
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says it is capable of deterring any
potential Israeli act of aggression.
Speaking
in an interview with the Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera on Sunday, Khalil
al-Hayya, with the political bureau of the movement, said the Ezzedine
al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of Hamas – was ready to repeat the 2021
operation ‘Sword of al-Quds’ if need be.
Hayya
said the operation “established great political and field equations” and the
resistance in the besieged Gaza Strip became a shield for the Palestinian land.
The
Hamas official said every battle the resistance fought against Israel had its
own circumstances, but Sword of al-Quds was the fiercest one. “We are close to
resolving the conflict with the occupation, whose signs of weakness appear day
after day.”
The
operation was launched in May 2021in defense of Palestinians in occupied
al-Quds. It opened a new chapter in the fight against Israel.
Last
year, Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau, said at a ceremony to
commemorate the first anniversary of the operation that the initiative that
resistance groups undertook by launching the operation “shattered the Zionist
enemy’s security theory.” With the operation, he said, resistance groups
brought the war into the Israeli-occupied territories and targeted every inch
of the occupied land with their intelligence operations as well as their
missiles and drones.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/03/27/700525/Hamas-Israel-sword-operation
--------
Israeli
troops, extremists storm al-Aqsa mosque, force out Muslim worshipers
27
March 2023
Muslim
worshipers have been forced out of the sacred al-Aqsa mosque as Israeli forces
and extremists stormed the vicinity of the mosque on the fourth day of the Holy
month of Ramadan.
Video
footage circulating online showed that Israeli soldiers and extremist illegal
settlers forced Muslims from the holy place late on Sunday.
The
large groups of Israeli radicals – whose incursion on Sunday came during the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan – were under Israeli forces’ protection.
According
to Wafa news agency, the Palestinian foreign ministry called for forcing Israel
to comply with its commitments and “halt violations of holy sites in al-Quds,
including al-Aqsa Mosque, before it is too late.”
The
ministry termed the Israeli assault on worshipers inside al-Aqsa as “a serious
escalation” and held Tel Aviv fully responsible for its consequences.
For
Muslims, al-Aqsa represents the world’s third-holiest site.
This
violence comes after the Israeli police approved the storming of al-Aqsa at the
instruction of far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
On
Thursday, the first day of Ramadan, almost 300 extremists raided the compound.
The
head of the Islamic Supreme Committee in al-Quds, Sheikh Ekrama Sabri, warned
of a campaign against the mosque.
He
said that the campaign began late on Saturday with the storming and desecration
of the al-Qibli prayer hall, urging a rally around al-Aqsa and for a stronger
defense of the site.
Sheikh
Sabri pointed out that the Israeli soldiers are trying to remove the worshipers
from the holy site to pave the way in front of Israeli illegal settlers to
storm the mosque and carry out their acts of violence and desecration.
Many
Palestinians have called on worshipers to break their fast during Ramadan
inside the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque and perform prayers in the mosque.
One
of their goals is to intensify the presence of Palestinians in the mosque
during the holy month to reassert their right to al-Aqsa Mosque and the city of
al-Quds, in light of recurrent raids by settlers.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab World
1,300-year-old
Al-Safa Mosque in Al-Baha to be renovated
March
27, 2023
RIYADH
— Built some 13 centuries ago, representing one of the Kingdom’s oldest mosques
in the Al-Baha region, the Al-Safa historical mosque will undergo a
comprehensive renovation process under the second phase of the Prince Mohammed
Bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques.
The
renovation project will ensure preservation of the mosque’s unique Sarat style
and its historical value while restoring its aesthetic elements and renewing
its construction with natural materials including stone from the Sarawat
Mountains and local wood used in ceilings, columns, windows, and doors.
Located
in Baljurashi Governorate, the renovation process will keep unchanged the
mosque’s footprint and its capacity. The mosque’s current area is 78 square
meters, and it can accommodate 31 worshippers. The restoration will be executed
as per a set of methods that preserve the mosque’s historical and design
values.
Built
nearly 1.350 years ago, the mosque is surrounded by adjacent buildings
separated by narrow passages in the village in the high mountains, where there
are many forms of construction, including stone buildings characterized by
narrow openings.
Al-Safa
Mosque is supported by two distinct columns of juniper trees, which the Prince
Mohammed Bin Salman Project will redevelop, in addition to preserving the
inscriptions on the mosque's columns and developing them with inscriptions of
the staircase unit, in a step that will also revive the ancient architectural
traditions of the Al-Baha region and highlight its ancient historical heritage.
It
is said that the first person to build the Al-Safa Mosque was Sufyan Bin Auf Al-Ghamdi,
and at the time, the mosque had a prominent social role, as it was considered a
place for villagers to assemble and discuss their affairs and resolve their
disputes between the Maghrib and Isha prayers.
The
second phase of the project covered 30 historic mosques across the Kingdom's 13
regions, including six mosques in Riyadh, five mosques in Makkah, four mosques
in Madinah, three in Asir, two in each of the Eastern Region, Al-Jouf, and
Jazan, and one mosque in each of the Northern Borders Region, Tabuk, Al-Baha,
Najran, Hail, and Al-Qassim.
This
comes upon the completion of the first phase, which included the rehabilitation
and restoration of 30 historical mosques in 10 regions.
The
project aims to achieve a balance between ancient and modern construction
standards in a way that gives the components of mosques an appropriate degree
of sustainability and integrates the effects of development with a set of
heritage and historical characteristics.
The
renovation process is being carried out by Saudi companies specialized in
heritage buildings, with an emphasis on involving Saudi engineers to ensure the
preservation of the authentic urban identity of each mosque since its
establishment.
The
Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques
serves four strategic objectives: restoration of historical mosques for worship
and prayer, restoration of the urban authenticity of historical mosques,
highlighting the cultural dimension of Saudi Arabia, and enhancing the
religious and cultural status of historical mosques.
Source:
Saudi Gazette
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Lebanon’s
cabinet reverses decision to delay daylight’s savings
27
March ,2023
Lebanon’s
caretaker prime minister said the cabinet had voted to move clocks one hour
ahead on Wednesday night, reversing his decision to postpone the move to
daylight savings by a month that had sparked uproar across the country.
Caretaker
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the decision had been taken after a “calm
discussion”.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iraq
changes electoral laws, sparking anger from opposition
27
March ,2023
Iraq’s
parliament voted Monday to restore electoral laws that were scrapped after 2019
anti-government demonstrations, sparking anger from independent lawmakers who
see it benefiting larger parties.
The
law, which parliament said in a statement was “adopted” without detailing the
votes, revives the electoral law of 2018 and sweeps away one of the gains of
the mass protest movement which shook Iraq.
After
the protests, a new system favored the emergence of independent candidates,
with some 70 independents winning seats in the 329-member parliament in the
last legislative elections in 2021.
Parliament
is dominated by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of powerful pro-Iran
Shia factions, from whose ranks Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani emerged.
The
new law removes 83 electoral districts and creates 18 seats, one for each of
Iraq’s provinces.
This
“makes it easier for top party politicians to win seats,” analyst Sajad Jiyad
said on Twitter.
Conversely,
it will make it “harder for candidates in smaller parties and independents to
compete” because they will be running at a provincial rather than a local
level, he added.
During
the debate, which ran from Sunday into the early hours of Monday, several angry
independent lawmakers were expelled from the debating chamber, according to
videos they filmed themselves.
The
law also replaces a first past the post system with proportional
representation.
Overall,
the changes will benefit the larger parties and make it possible “for their
candidates who didn’t get enough votes initially to win seats,” Jiyad added.
“Independent
candidates will no longer have any hope of obtaining representation in
parliament”, said Alaa al-Rikabi, an independent lawmaker.
“They
will be crushed.”
But
Coordination Framework lawmaker Bahaa al-Dine Nouri welcomed the change,
arguing that it will “distribute the seats according to the size of the
parties”.
Nouri
said this will “lead to the formation of a government within the time limits
set by the constitution” to avoid the endless standoffs that followed the 2021
election.
The
new law will apply to the next legislative elections, the date of which has not
yet been set.
It
will also apply to provincial elections slated for November 6, to be held in 15
of the 18 Iraqi provinces, excluding the three provinces in the autonomous
Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
How
Arab-Islamic Migration, Language And Culture Shaped Modern Latin America
March
28, 2023
SAO
PAULO, BRAZIL: In recent years, a new generation of researchers has been
examining the ancient Islamic roots of Latin American societies.
In
the age of social media, such content is being disseminated among larger
audiences, and many people in Latin America seem to be avidly interested.
“I
began to read about the Moors when I was studying Arabic in Egypt,” said
Mansour Peixoto, a Muslim convert from the Brazilian city of Recife who in 2014
founded the website Historia Islamica (Islamic History).
“I’d
already learnt at that time about the Islamic influence on Portugal, but then I
became interested in its direct and indirect impacts on Brazilian culture,” he
told Arab News.
Between
711 and 1492, Arab-Berber rulers dominated parts of present-day Portugal, Spain
and France, naming the region Al-Andalus.
An
almost-800-year presence in the Iberian Peninsula left many influences that
were brought to colonial Latin America.
After
the Christian re-conquest, Islam was forbidden in Spain and Portugal. From then
on, especially at the beginning of the 17th century, many Muslims — including
people of European ancestry — were forced to move to North Africa, but many
accepted to convert to Catholicism, some of whom remained secretly Muslim.
“Those
people, especially the poor, were numerous among the Portuguese who came to
colonize Brazil since the 16th century,” said Peixoto.
Although
his website deals with several Islamic themes, the history of Muslim Portuguese
settlers — known as Mouriscos, or Moors — and their influence on Brazil is a
frequent topic. “Many people don’t realize that we have customs in Brazil that
come from the Islamic world,” said Peixoto.
Historia
Islamica’s publications about the influence of Arabic on the Portuguese
language are among the most shared by the website’s followers.
Some
researchers believe that 700-1,000 Portuguese words come from Arabic, but
recent studies suggest that the number of Arabisms could be much higher.
Several
everyday words in Brazil have Arabic origins, such as alface (lettuce),
almofada (cushion), acougue (butcher shop) and garrafa (bottle).
“Not
to mention architectural terms that we still use today, like alicerce
(foundation) and andaime (scaffolding),” said Peixoto.
“Iberian
building methods were mostly Arab in the 16th century, and they were brought to
the Americas.”
Islamic
architectural influence in Latin America is one of the most noticeable cultural
traits of Al-Andalus in the region, according to Hernan Taboada, an expert on
the subject and a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
“That
can be seen in the architectural style in New Spain, the viceroyalty that
extended from the south of the present-day US to Central America,” he told Arab
News.
Along
with the Viceroyalty of Peru, in South America, that region probably
concentrated most of the Moorish settlers in colonial Latin America, Taboada
said.
Colonial-era
churches in Mexico, from Veracruz on the Atlantic coast to Oaxaca in the south,
exhibit evident Moorish artistic traits.
“They’re
especially visible in the elements of decoration in those churches,” Taboada
said. “Many temples in Mexico undoubtedly have Moorish style, which doesn’t
mean they were necessarily built by Moors. In general, such elements were
assimilated in Spain and transposed to Latin America.”
The
presence of Muslims in New Spain and elsewhere in the region is not easy to
verify, given that it was a clandestine presence.
This
may be why the subject was ignored in academia for so long, although classical
works of Latin American history mentioned it in the 19th and 20th centuries.
“The
study of the Moorish presence was mostly resumed by Muslims and people of Arab
origin. Those works showed that they weren’t as few in Latin America as was
once supposed,” Taboada said.
Although
Islam was forbidden, the Moors — like the Jews — largely enjoyed tolerance in
the New World, though the Inquisition did act against them at times, he added.
Historian
Ricardo Elia, cultural director of the Islamic Center of the Republic of
Argentina, has since the 1980s been one of the pioneers in the study of the
Moorish presence in the region of La Plata River.
“I
discovered that the gauchos (the term used in Argentina, Uruguay and southern
Brazil for legendary horsemen) are nothing less than Moors,” he told Arab News.
There
is an ancient controversy regarding the etymological origin of that term in
Argentina. Some scholars say it comes from a Quechuan word, but Elia and other
researchers say it comes from chauch, a term with Arabic origins that means
something like indomitable.
“In
Valencia, Spain, the word chaucho was used to designate horsemen and pastors,”
Elia said, adding that most of the crews of the Spanish ships that explored the
Americas since the 15th century were composed of Moors, and that the first
person to catch sight of the Americas was Rodrigo de Triana, a Moor.
“They
needed to leave Spain so they came to the Americas. And they were good
sailors.”
Over
the centuries, Moors intermarried with other ethnic groups such as the Guarani
indigenous people, but their cultural impact in the region is felt to this day.
Elia
said empanadas, Argentina’s most typical pastry, have Andalusian origins, as
does dulce de leche (caramelized milk).
The
linguistic influence on the Spanish language is unquestionable. Elia estimates
that there are about 4,000 Arabisms, most of them adopted in Spain.
“But
in Argentina and Uruguay, the Moors also impacted our way of pronouncing the
words,” he said.
Over
the years, Elia has taught classes in universities in Argentina and Chile about
the Moorish presence in South America.
“Unfortunately,
the community of Lebanese and Syrian descent in Argentina has never shown much
interest in such themes. Non-Arab Argentinians have always been the most
curious about that,” said Elia, who comes from a Lebanese family.
He
added that more and more people now want to learn about the first Muslim
settlers in Latin America.
“In
Morocco, an academic conference dealing especially with that topic was
organized in 2021,” he said.
Peixoto
said many people are “willing to discover more about their ancestry and the
many questions not answered about it,” which is why a new generation of
scholars has been researching the Moors of Latin America.
He
plans to conduct an academic study about the Moors in Brazil, publish books on
that topic and offer online classes.
“Our
elite (in Brazil) likes to see itself as European, but we’re a combination of
indigenous peoples, Africans, Europeans, and also Moors,” he said.
Peixoto
thinks Muslims and Arabs made a decisive contribution to the formation of the
Brazilian people, not only with the settlers from Al-Andalus, but also with the
Africans brought as slaves, and the huge wave of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants
who came to Brazil since the end of the 19th century.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2276641/world
--------
Saudi
crown prince, Iraqi PM discuss cooperation
March
28, 2023
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iraqi Prime Minister,
Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani, have discussed ways to enhance bilateral strategic
cooperation and partnership within the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2276661/saudi-arabia
--------
Pakistan
Thaw
in KSA-Iran ties to benefit Pakistan: Ashrafi
By
Asim Yasin
March
28, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi has said the resumption
of Iran-Saudi Arab relations is a good omen for the Muslim world and the role
of Pakistan’s great friend China in this regard is commendable.
“The
resumption of relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran is good
news for the Muslim Ummah, and it is necessary for the strength of Islamic
countries to stop sectarian and foreign interference in the affairs of Muslim
countries,” he said while talking to media here on Monday.
He
said the restoration of Saudi Arabia-Iran relations would bring many benefits
to Pakistan and the Islamic world had to solve its problems through unity. He
said Saudi Arabia, China and Russia should also play their role in Palestine
and Kashmir.
Pakistan
and Saudi Arabia have the same position on the issue of Palestine that until an
independent Palestinian state is established, relations with Israel cannot be
thought of. In response to a question, he said Saudi Arabia was the centre of
the Islamic world.
“The
role played by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman under the
patronage of Khadim-e-Harmain Al-Sharifain Shah Salman bin Abdulaziz is being
appreciated all over the world for the cause of peace,” he said, adding that
the Ummah must take practical measures against the atrocities on Palestinians
and Kashmiris.
The
stance of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on the issues of Palestine
and Kashmir is clear. He said Israeli atrocious practices towards oppressed
Palestinians were increasing and Israel was not recognizing international laws
and resolutions and the same was the situation in IIOJ&K.
Source:
TheNews Pakistan
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1054801-thaw-in-ksa-iran-ties-to-benefit-pakistan-ashrafi
--------
Scathing
note torpedoes CJP’s order in election suo motu
Nasir
Iqbal
March
28, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
Two judges of the apex court on Monday cast doubt on the judgement handed down
in the March 1 suo motu regarding elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab,
saying that the proceedings stood dismissed by a majority of 4-3, and contended
that the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) does not have the power to restructure
benches without the consent of the respective judges.
The
28-page ‘order of the court’ came in stark contrast to the order issued
earlier, wherein the top court ruled in a 3-2 verdict that elections in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab should be held within 90 days.
The
ruling sparked a debate on whether the decision is considered a verdict by a
majority of three to two or by four to three, with the government insisting on
the latter.
The
recent order, authored by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan
Mandokhail, seems to address this controversy by stating that once “the cause
list [is] issued and the bench is assembled for hearing cases, the chief
justice cannot reconstitute the bench…”
“We
are of the considered view that our decision concurring with the decision of
our learned brothers (Yahya Afridi and Athar Minallah, JJ.) in dismissing the
present suo motu proceedings and the connected constitution petitions is the
Order of the Court with a majority of 4 to 3, binding upon all the concerned.”
‘Disagreement’
not grounds for redoing bench
In
order to corroborate this, Justice Shah referred to the administrative powers
enjoyed by the CJP in reconstituting a bench. Once the bench is constituted, a
cause list is issued and the bench starts hearing the cases, the matter
regarding the constitution of the bench goes outside the pale of administrative
powers of the CJP and rests on the judicial side, the ruling said, adding that
any member of the bench may, however, recuse from the bench. The bench may also
be reconstituted if it is against the rules and requires a three-member bench
instead of two, the ruling added.
“In
the absence of a recusal… any amount of disagreement amongst the members of the
bench… cannot form a valid ground for reconstitution of the bench,” it said,
adding that reconstitution of a bench while hearing a case, in the absence of
any recusal would amount to stifling the independent view of the judge.
“After
having made a final decision on the matter at an early stage of the proceedings
of a case, the non-sitting of a judge in the later proceedings does not amount
to his recusal from hearing the case nor does it constitute his exclusion from
the bench,” it argued.
According
to the order, the decision of the CJP to remove the two judges from the bench
through its reconstitution “has no effect on the judicial decision” passed in
the case since the reconstitution was simply an administrative act to
facilitate the further hearing by the remaining five members of the bench.
It
added that the administrative exercise could not nullify or brush aside the
judicial decisions given by the two judges in this case, which have to be
counted when the matter is finally concluded.
Panama
precedent and ‘one-man show’
“Failure
to count the decision of our learned brothers (Yahya Afridi and Athar Minallah,
JJ.) would amount to excluding them from the bench without their consent, which
is not permissible under the law and not within the powers of the chief
justice.”
“We
are also fortified in our opinion by the precedent of the well-known Panama
case. In the said case, the first order of the court was passed by a 3-2 and in
the subsequent hearings conducted in pursuance of the majority judgement the
two judges, who had made and announced their final decision, did not sit on the
bench but they were not considered to have been excluded from the bench and
were made a party to the final judgement…and they also sat on the bench that
heard the review petitions.”
The
order also questioned the discretion of the CJP in regulating the constitution
of the benches and highlighted the need of revisiting the power of “one-man
show” enjoyed by the office of CJP to ensure public trust and confidence in the
judiciary.
This
court cannot be dependent on the solitary decision of one man but must be
regulated through a rule-based system approved by all judges, said the
judgement.
Referring
to CJP’s power, the judgement said the power of doing a “one-man show” was not
only anachronistic, outdated and obsolete but also antithetical to good
governance and incompatible with modern democratic norms.
The
one-man show makes the system more susceptible to the abuse of power, it said,
adding that in contrast, a collegial system with checks and balances helps
prevent the abuse and promotes transparency and accountability.
“Ironically,
the Supreme Court has time and again held how public functionaries ought to
structure their discretion but has miserably failed to set the same standard
for itself leaving CJP with unfettered powers in the matter of regulating the
jurisdiction under Article 184(3) constituting benches and assigning cases.”
“It
is this unbridled power enjoyed by CJP that has brought severe criticism and
lowered the honour and prestige of the apex court,” the judgement regretted.
Political
thicket
By
initiating suo motu proceedings regarding polls, the Supreme Court had ushered
into a “political thicket,” which commenced last year with the dissolution of
the National Assembly and reached the dissolution of the provincial assemblies
this year.
“We
must not forget that democracy is never bereft of the divide. The very essence
of the political system is to rectify such disagreements but to take this key
characteristic outside the realm of our political system and transfer it to the
judiciary, threatens the very core of democratic choice – raison d’etre’ of
democracy,” the judgement said.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1744619/scathing-note-torpedoes-cjps-order-in-election-suo-motu
--------
PTI
lawmakers return to parliament with noisy protest
Amir
Wasim
March
28, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
Ending almost a year-long boycott, opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)
senators returned to the joint sitting of parliament on Monday with their
signature noisy protest, causing disruptions to the proceedings as both the
Senate opposition leader and a minister accused each other of causing chaos in
the country.
For
the first time since assuming the office in April last year, Speaker Raja
Pervaiz Ashraf was seen struggling in running the house smoothly as members
from both sides continued sloganeering against each other despite warnings from
the chair.
Speaker
Ashraf on a couple of times was seen losing temper when he warned the
opposition senators that they might also not be allowed to speak if they
continued interrupting Minister for Communications Asad Mehmood’s speech. He
taunted the PTI members by saying, “end your protest now as you have marked
your attendance before someone”.
The
PTI senators, carrying placards inscribed with anti-government slogans,
gathered in front of the speaker’s dais and raised full-throated slogans soon
after entering the hall and again when Mr Mehmood in his speech named the sons
of Imran Khan, asking the PTI chief to bring them to the country and get them
enrolled in some Madressah, if he really wanted to turn the country into a
Madina-like state.
Shahzad
Waseem strikes a ‘reconciliatory’ note; ministers join ex-Fata members in
walkout over non-release of funds; speaker adjourns joint sitting until April
10
In
their speeches dominated by political rhetoric, Opposition Leader in the Senate
Dr Shahzad Waseem of PTI and Mr Mehmood accused each other of violating the
Constitution and causing chaos in the country.
PTI
Senators Waleed Iqbal, Fawzia Arshad and Saifullah Abro were the most active
among those leading the protest.
During
the hard-hitting speech of Mr Mehmood, who is the son of JUI-F chief Maulana
Fazlur Rehman, the assembly hall kept on being echoed with slogans both from
the treasury benches and the opposition side.
Though
Dr Waseem lashed out at the government for allegedly running away from the
Constitution, running a campaign against judges and politically victimising the
PTI, he delivered his speech in somewhat conciliatory tone. He did not
surprisingly utter a single word about the alleged corruption of PPP or PML-N
leaders. He only criticised the rulers for their present policies, particularly
for bringing the country at the verge of economic collapse.
The
PTI senator then stressed the need for political unity and called for sitting
together to find out the way out of the crisis. He declared that his party did
not want to create chaos and only desired for fair and free elections. In what
can be described as a polite offer for engagement, Dr Waseem said they should
sit together keeping aside their personal interests, adding that it was the job
of the government to “extinguish fire”, instead of causing chaos.
He
also made an indirect “request” to the speaker to allow the PTI MNAs to return
to the house after the party’s decision to withdraw their en masse
resignations.
On
the other hand, Mr Mehmood in so many words hinted that the government was in
no mood of engaging the PTI leadership.
“We
will drive a final nail into your political coffin,” Mr Mehmood thundered amid
loud jeering by the opposition PTI members. However, the PTI senators were not
supported by the dissident MNAs, who had ditched the party at the time of vote
of no-confidence against then prime minister Imran Khan in April last year.
Referring
to Mr Khan’s oft-repeated claim that he had acquired power after 23-year
struggle, Mr Mehmood declared that PTI would never be able to get power again
even if it carried out a struggle for the next 46 years.
The
communications minister also hit out at the judiciary and accused it of
becoming a party in the political confrontation. He particularly criticised the
superior judiciary over its recent decisions regarding the date for the
elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as the previous rulings at
the time of the election of PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz as the Punjab chief minister.
He alleged that the judiciary announced its verdict in the case about the
election date without providing the ruling parties an opportunity to present
their viewpoint.
“If
you will make political statements before issuing orders, then we will
criticise you,” he said in an apparent reference to some remarks of the judges
during the hearing of political cases.
The
JUI-F MNA dubbed Mr Khan “an agent of Jewish lobby” and mentioned recent
statements by US officials, including Zalmay Khalilzad, and some journalists
and human rights activists in PTI’s favour to prove his point.
He
said PTI could never come to power without the support of establishment. He
claimed that former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa held a meeting with Imran Khan
after his ouster from power at the behest of Mr Khalilzad.
Terming
the PTI’s March 25 public meeting in Lahore a disaster, Mr Mehmood challenged
Imran Khan to organise a rally without music or women. He passed some
derogatory remarks about the PTI participants of the public meetings, prompting
a strong protest by the opposition senators.
Mr
Mehmood was still on his legs when the speaker abruptly adjourned the joint
sitting till April 10 after failing to contain the protesting PTI members.
Earlier,
Dr Waseem began his speech with the criticism on the Election Commission of
Pakistan (ECP) for delaying polls in Punjab and KP despite the Supreme Court’s
order, terming it a violation of the Constitution as well as contempt of court.
He then protested over the alleged government crackdown on the PTI leaders and
workers and police action at Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
He
also lamented the role of the caretaker Punjab government, accusing it of going
beyond its mandate of holding the elections. He particularly mentioned the
statement of Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi for using threatening
tone against the PTI activists and asked him to apologise over it.
It
was during Dr Waseem’s speech that the journalists staged a walkout from the
press gallery against the alleged custodial torture by police on one of their
colleagues and non-payment of salaries in some media organisations.
Taking
cue from the journalists’ walkout, Dr Waseem started portraying a dismal
picture of the state of media freedom in the country, alleging that journalists
were being booked on terrorism charges and tortured merely for exposing the
wrong policies of rulers.
Later,
the speaker directed the interior ministry to take action against those
responsible for violence against journalists during the appearance of PTI chief
Imran Khan before a court in Islamabad and referred the issue of non-payment of
salaries to the concerned house committee.
NA
session
Earlier
during the separate National Assembly session, the coalition government faced
embarrassment when treasury members, including two federal ministers, belonging
to erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) staged a token walkout
from the house over non-release of promised development funds for the region.
The
issue was raised by independent MNA Mohsin Dawar, who alleged that despite
promises by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar funds
for tribal people had not been released.
He
said that out of the Rs55bn allocated amount, the government had so far
released only Rs5bn. He said dollars were raining on the country when these
areas were being destroyed in war against terrorism, and now when they required
funds for rehabilitation, there was no money in the national kitty.
The
protesting MNAs also criticised Finance Minister Ishaq Dar who, according to
them, did not have time to even have a meeting with them.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1744618/pti-lawmakers-return-to-parliament-with-noisy-protest
--------
Al
Aqsa raid, desecration incident in Denmark condemned
Iftikhar
A. Khan
March
28, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Monday strongly condemned the raid by Israeli forces on Al Aqsa
Mosque on the third day of Ramazan, expelling worshippers and violating the
sanctity of the mosque – one of the holiest sites of Muslims.
Meanwhile,
in a separate statement, the Foreign Office also condemned another abhorrent
act of desecration of the Holy Quran in Denmark.
In
a statement, the FO regretted that such reprehensible attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque
by Israeli occupation forces during Ramazan.
On
Thursday, the first day of Ramazan, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man
during a raid in the occupied West Bank.
It
noted that such acts not only constitute grave violation of the fundamental
right to freedom of religion or belief of the Palestinian people but also an
affront to religious sentiments of over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.
“The
indiscriminate use of force by Israeli occupation forces against defenseless
Palestinians defies all humanitarian and human rights norms and laws. By
carrying out such illegal raids, Israel has backed out on its own recent
commitment to respect the sanctity of Ramazan,” the FO statement said.
“Pakistan
calls upon the international community to take urgent action to put an end to
the Israeli transgressions that have been particularly ascendant since the
beginning of this year,” the FO said.
“We
reaffirm our un-stinted support for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian
cause, and renew our call for a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian
State, with pre-1967 borders, and Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital being the
only just, comprehensive and lasting solution of the Palestinian question, in
accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions.”
Separately,
referring to another incident of desecration of the Holy Quran in Denmark, the
FO noted that the “recurrence of such wilful and vile acts is a troubling
manifestation of growing hatred, racism and phobia against Muslims and their
faith”.
The
incident took place on March 24 when far-right activist Rasmus Paludan, who
earlier staging a Quran-burning protest in Sweden on January 21, repeated the
act in front of a mosque and Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen and vowed to
continue every Friday until Sweden is admitted into NATO.
It
said that repeated occurrence of such premeditated acts calls into question the
efficacy of legal framework behind which Islamophobes hide and incite hatred.
“The
exercise of the right to freedom of expression cannot be used as a smokescreen
to deliberately denigrate the Holy Scriptures or personalities of any
religion,” the FO said.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1744592
--------
India
And Pakistan Invited For US Democracy Summit: Report
Mar
28, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
The democracy summit in Washington beginning on Tuesday would be a test for
Pakistan's diplomacy as the cash-strapped country would look to rekindle ties
with the US without irking its long-time ally China, as per a media report.
Like the first democracy meet in 2021, both India and Pakistan have been
invited to the summit. Pakistan had opted out of the first summit, reportedly
on the back of the Biden administration's refusal to reach out to the then-PM
Imran Khan.
Dawn
newspaper reported that for the cash-starved Pakistan, the summit could be a
major opportunity to win over the US support for raising funds from
international lenders and bilateral donors. But Pakistan's "all-weather
friend" China would be closely monitoring these overtures as US has
already annoyed Beijing by inviting Taiwan, the self-ruled island which China
claims as its own.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
PTI
slams interior minister for 'incendiary' remarks against Imran Khan
Mar
28, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) slammed interior minister Rana
Sanaullah for his “inflammatory” remarks saying the former prime minister had
taken political rivalry to a point of enmity.
In
an interview with a private TV station on Sunday, Sanaullah said the narrative
built by Imran had led to a situation where only one of the two parties, PTI
and PML-N, could exist and the other would be “eliminated” from the political
scene.
Blaming
Imran for an anarchy-like situation in the country, he said the PTI chairman’s
rhetoric had created so much bad blood among followers of both parties that
either he or they (PML-N leaders) could be killed.
Condemning
Sanaullah’s comments, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry asked if the minister was
“doing politics or running a gang?” The Supreme Court was “absolutely right” in
calling PML-N the “Sicilian mafia”, he said.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Govt
will never surrender to Imran’s wishes: Saad Rafique
Khalid
Hasnain
March
28, 2023
LAHORE:
Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that
what Imran Khan wants will never happen, as the government will never surrender
to his desires.
“Whatever
you want, it will not come to pass. It will not be done because you are a
fascist. You don’t have any connection with democracy. You have abrogated the
Constitution. You are ‘falsely’ popular,” the minister lashed out at PTI chief
Imran Khan at a news conference here at the Pakistan Railways (PR) headquarters
on Monday.
“You
(IK) have a cult-following. And [we] will not hand over this country to a man
having such following,” he declared.
Describing
Mr Khan and his facilitators as thieves and Sicilian Mafia, the minister asked
them to apologise to the nation for promoting and installing a party that had
allegedly destroyed everything in the country.
Claims
‘facilitators’ are trying to reinstall ex-PM; asks PIA pilots to ‘bear with’
govt on tax issue
“Not
we, you are thieves. Not we, you are the Sicilian Mafia. Instead of seeking
pardon individually and covertly, you all (IK’s facilitators) must seek pardon
collectively from the nation.”
He
alleged that Imran Khan’s facilitators (within the establishment and the
judiciary) had now started efforts to bring the PTI chief back to power at a
time when the PDM-led government is trying hard to clean the mess created by
Imran Khan.
Mr
Rafique said the opposition threw Mr Khan out in a constitutional way, but his
facilitators had started fresh efforts to bring him back. “We undertook the
work to clear the mess created by him [Imran] that caused further inflation,”
he said, adding the PDM government did this at the cost of its political
capital. And now, he lamented, by highlighting the same pretext of inflation
before the public, they (the facilitators) are trying to install him again.
“We
know what’s happening. You [facilitators] can do whatever you want, but we will
not give space to Imran Khan,” he warned.
In
reply to a question, the minister termed the April 30 date for elections in
Punjab and KP unrealistic. According to him, it was done in isolation to
support a particular party. How long will PTI be given special treatment, he
questioned.
Recalling
the previous PML-N government, he deplored that state institutions
(establishment, judiciary and some journalists) had joined hands to remove a
well-performing government under a conspiracy, repeatedly called opposition
leaders as looters and thieves, rigged elections, installed a man having no
sense of politics, put opposition politicians behind bars, registered baseless
cases against them and destroyed their businesses and the country’s economy.
And
when he was removed through a no-confidence move, he declared that was done
under a conspiracy, the minister said. However, he added, the conspiracy turned
out to be false as PTI is now polishing American boots by hiring lobbying firms
in the US.
“You
(Imran) and your facilitators will have to bring back Pakistan on the position
of 2017,” Mr Rafique warned, referring to the time when PML-N was in power.
“What
justice you have given to Nawaz Sharif who was thrown out of politics on the
basis of an iqama (work permit) or non-receiving of salary from his son. Did
anyone find and prove even a single corruption case against Nawaz Sharif or
Shehbaz Sharif during their 20 years’ opposition period,” he argued.
Trains
being upgraded
Mr
Rafique said Pakistan Railways had decided to upgrade two more trains to reduce
travelling pressure on Green Line Express.
“Besides
running special trains on the eve of Eid, we have decided to operate summer or
seasonal trains. The department has also decided to run a new cargo train from
Peshawar to Karachi, besides reducing freight charges for all existing freight
trains,” he explained.
He
said a pilot project is being launched under which railway stations (Lahore
City and Raiwind) and several trains, including Green Line and Railcar, will be
branded and added that for this purpose bidding process will be held soon. The
process to auction or lease out some 2,600 PR-owned shops has also started.
“The
PR management has decided to convert 51 buildings, including railways stations,
to solar energy,” he said.
Talking
about the aviation ministry, Mr Rafique said his ministry is all set to
outsource the operation of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad airports and the issue
will be placed before the Economic Coordination Committee soon.
He
urged the PIA pilots to cooperate with the government, saying it was trying
hard to resolve their issue of 32 per cent tax on their salaries.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1744594/govt-will-never-surrender-to-imrans-wishes-saad-rafique
--------
South Asia
Suicide
bomber kills 6 people near foreign ministry in Kabul
Mar
27, 2023
Islamabad:
A suicide bomber struck on Monday near the foreign ministry in Kabul, killing
at least six people and wounding several, according to officials. It was the
second time this year that there has been an attack near the ministry.
There
was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing but the regional
affiliate of the Islamic State group has increased attacks since the Taliban
takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August 2021. IS has targeted Taliban officials
and patrols, as well as members of the country's minority Shiites.
According
to Khalid Zadran, a spokesman for the Kabul police chief, Taliban security
forces spotted the bomber before he was able to reach a checkpoint at the Malik
Asghar intersection, near the ministry.
The
attacker then detonated his explosives, killing at least six civilians. Three
members of the Taliban security forces were among those wounded in the attack.
The
Kabul hospital run by the EMERGENCY non-governmental organisation said it
received two fatalities from the explosion and 12 wounded, including a child.
In
mid-January, an IS attack near the ministry killed at least five people and
wounded several others. Checkpoints line the fortified route to the ministry,
which is on one of the roads leading to the presidential palace. Guards stop
and search vehicles and people along the way.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Despite
recent diplomatic efforts, Pakistan-Taliban ties face more challenges
27
March, 2023
Kabul
[Afghanistan], March 27 (ANI): Despite recent diplomatic efforts, the
relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban is expected to face more
challenges, as Islamabad’s internal crises complicate the situation, reported
Afghan Diaspora Network (ADN).
Pakistan
is currently grappling with unprecedented internal political and economic
crises, and the Taliban leadership is closely monitoring these developments,
making them cautious about making any hasty decisions in favour of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s
recent diplomatic efforts to improve relations with Afghanistan have been
unsuccessful. On February 22, a senior Pakistani delegation, including Defence
Minister Khwaja Asif and Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, Director General of
Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, visited Kabul to hold
talks with the Taliban leadership.
This
visit occurred shortly after the Torkham border crossing was closed, raising
tensions between the two countries. The delegation’s purpose was to meet with
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan’s acting deputy prime minister for
economic affairs.
The
high-level meeting occurred against the backdrop of increasing violence by the
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in various parts of Pakistan. The meeting
reportedly ended in a stalemate, as the Taliban refused to address the TTP
issue but agreed to improve bilateral economic and trade relations, reported
ADN.
The
delegation from Pakistan was left embarrassed as the Taliban government did not
even officially acknowledge that the TTP issue was part of the meeting and
simply emphasized the importance of trade and commerce relations between the
two countries.
Furthermore,
the Taliban side urged Khawaja Asif and other officials to “release Afghans
being detained in detention facilities in Pakistan.”
The
official statements released by both sides indicate that there were significant
differences regarding the issue of terrorism allegedly originating from
Afghanistan, reported ADN.
The
delegation talks included the cross-border implications of trade, particularly
the border skirmishes at Torkham and Chaman-Spin Boldak, as well as the alleged
cross-border movements of the TTP and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP)
terrorists.
With
the growing mistrust against Islamabad’s border control efforts and allegations
of ISI’s involvement in providing material and infrastructure support to the
ISKP, it is possible that the Taliban could impose policy options on Islamabad,
forcing them to make concessions on cross-border trade and possibly granting a
second opportunity for peaceful negotiations with the TTP, reported ADN.
Furthermore,
Islamabad has been unsuccessful in persuading other countries to formally
recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, adding to the strain on their
relationship. Ongoing tensions over the TTP issue, regular cross-border
skirmishes, and frequent border closures have only worsened ties between the
two countries.
Source:
ThePrint
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Education,
Civil Society Activist MatiullahWesa, Detained by Taliban
By
Fidel Rahmati
March
28, 2023
MatiullahWesa,
the well-known human rights activist who advocated for girls’ education and the
founder of Pen Path, was detained by the Taliban on Monday, his brother
confirmed.
His
brother AtaullahWesa claimed that Wesa was detained by the Taliban close to
their house in the Khoshal Khan Area west of Kabul, while the Taliban rejected
the allegation.
Wesa
was an education and human rights activist who created educational
opportunities for thousands of girls across Afghanistan within the last decade.
Wesa
runs an education organization, “Pen Path”, which promotes education in the
remote areas of Afghanistan.
Since
the closure of the girls’ school by the Taliban, Wesa visited 20 out of 34
provinces of Afghanistan to provide thousands of girls’ students with
educational materials.
Wesa’s
arrest came amid the beginning of the new academic year in Afghanistan. This is
the third consecutive year the Taliban-led government has not reopened girls’
schools beyond sixth grade.
On
Sunday, a group of women raised their voices against the prolonged ban on
Afghan women and girls’ schools and universities, but the protesters were
dispersed by air fire, and three of them were detained by the Taliban. The
women protesters were released later by the Taliban.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/education-civil-society-activist-matiullah-wesa-detained-by-taliban/
--------
Afghan
Security Forces Kill Senior IS-K Leaders in Afghanistan
By
Fidel Rahmati
March
27, 2023
Three
senior Islamic State-Khorasan leaders had been killed in a special raid on
Sunday in the Northern Province of Afghanistan, Balkh, the Afghan General
Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) said in a statement.
According
to the statement, the three senior leaders, including; Mavlavi Ziauddin, Abu
Omar Afridi, and Ustad Salman Tajiki, were killed in operation.
The
GDI also added that Mavlavi Ziauddin had been the acting governor of Islamic
State-Khorasan and was in charge of administrative and judicial affairs. Abu
Omar Afridi was a senior member of the Khorasan branch council, and Ustad
Salman Tajiki was a national of Tajikistan and a specialist bomb-making and
military trainer.
The
statement also claimed that an operation was carried out in Faryab province
earlier, which led to the arrest of Islamic State members involved in Killing
the former governor of Balkh province, DawooMuzamal.
Recently
the interim government of the Taliban has intensified their operation against
Islamic State hideouts across the country which led to the Killing and
arresting of several militants.
In
a recent operation by the Taliban, security forces killed a key Daesh member
known as ‘Qaes’ in the 12 districts of the capital city, Kabul, who was
allegedly involved in the attack on the interior ministry mosque, DGI officials
said.
Several
arms and ammunition were confiscated during the operation, including explosive
vests, hand grenades and several AK-47s.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-security-forces-kill-senior-is-k-leaders-in-afghanistan/
--------
Private
Afghan University Sells its Library Due to Financial Issues
By
Nizamuddin Rezahi
March
28, 2023
Afghanistan
University has announced to sell its library due to financial issues which led
to the suspension of the private educational institution in the capital city of
Kabul.
The
library accommodates nearly 3,000 books on different principles including
political sciences, international relations, law, religious education,
economics, security, and social sciences.
The
library includes bookshelves, a computer lab, equipped with e-books, and
electronic search systems which facilitates issuing and returning books
effectively.
Many
students of Afghanistan University have described the decision of the
university management as extremely disappointing and unfair because it
adversely affects the future of hundreds of students who are still studying for
their respective degrees at this educational institution.
“As
a current student of this university, I’m overwhelmingly disappointed with this
decision. Afghanistan University did not only leave its students midway but
also darkened the future of dozens of students,” one student commented.
The
university management has taken the decision without communicating it with the
students, which is believed to have political reasons behind it.
Since
the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, the dire economic situation
has had its ramifications on private universities and educational institutions
as well. A considerable number of universities closed their doors mainly due to
financial issues and social constraints imposed by the Taliban-run
administration.
The
Taliban takeover last August hit Afghanistan’s reading culture and book industry
especially hard. Universities, libraries, bookstores, and the publishing
industry went quiet, and are on the verge of gradual closure.
Meanwhile,
the ban restricting women and girls from attending university education has
negatively impacted the financial situation of private universities. Nearly
half of the female students studying for their degrees in private educational
institutions have been barred for the past months.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/private-afghan-university-sells-its-library-due-to-financial-issues/
--------
UN
Condemns Attack Near Afghan Foreign Ministry in Kabul
By
Fidel Rahmati
March
28, 2023
The
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed its
condolences and condemned the attack near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
Kabul.
The
UNAMA has condemned Monday’s attack near the foreign ministry in Kabul that
killed at least six, including one child, and wounded several others.
“UNAMA
sends condolences to the victims and their families.”
The
stamen also said that the attack on ordinary people of Afghanistan is unacceptable.
“Reports
of numerous casualties in Monday’s attack in Kabul, at least one child among
them. It is unacceptable that ordinary Afghans continue to be targeted as they
go about their daily lives.”
On
Monday afternoon, a blast occurred near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
Kabul, killing at least six and injuring several people, including three
members of the Taliban.
So
far, no one has claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/un-condemns-attack-near-afghan-foreign-ministry-in-kabul/
--------
Japan
Contributes $21 Million for Life-Saving Vaccines in Afghanistan
By
Nizamuddin Rezahi
March
27, 2023
The
Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan on Monday announced that Japan has contributed
US$ 21 million for live life-saving vaccines for mothers and children, and
water and sanitation in schools.
With
this funding, UNICEF will provide clean water for 30,000 people in four
provinces, and vaccines for 18.3 million mothers and children across
Afghanistan.
Amid
the devastating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the government of Japan has
donated to UNICEF US$ 18 million in support of essential vaccines for over 18
million mothers and children, and US$ 3.6 million for water and sanitation
facilities in public schools.
The
vaccines include measles, rotavirus, tetanus and diphtheria, polio, hepatitis B
and others. These funds will also enable UNICEF to reach around 10 million
children with oral polio vaccines during national vaccination campaigns in
2023.
“This
support from the Japanese government will not only help to give mothers and
children the immunity boost they need to stay healthy, but it will also improve
sanitation and hygiene in schools,” said Rushnan Murtaza, UNICEF Afghanistan
Deputy Representative.
“Complementing
our past support to Afghanistan in health, nutrition and education, we hope these
contributions will create cleaner, safer learning environments and communities
for children and their families,” says Takashi Okada, Ambassador of Japan to
Afghanistan.
Water
and sanitation projects will be implemented in Ghor, Uruzgan, Zabul and Pakitika
which are among the most deprived provinces in Afghanistan, according to UNICEF
officials.
Since
the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, the government of Japan has
generously contributed towards improving the living conditions of women and children,
who have been the most vulnerable segments of society under the Taliban regime.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/japan-contributes-21-million-for-life-saving-vaccines-in-afghanistan/
--------
Africa
UN
rights investigator says EU aided and abetted abuse of migrants in Libya
March
27, 2023
GENEVA:
A member of the UN fact-finding mission to Libya investigating rights abuses
said on Monday that European Union support for Libyan authorities that stop and
detain migrants had “aided and abetted” the commission of rights violations
against migrants.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2276411/middle-east
--------
If
Tunisia is not helped, Muslim Brotherhood may ‘create instability’: Italian FM
March
27, 2023
ROME:
The international community runs the risk of “having the Muslim Brotherhood
create instability” in Tunisia if the country is not promptly granted
“substantial financial help,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said at a
conference attended by Arab News.
“We
can’t afford the radicalization of the Mediterranean,” he added, saying Tunisia
is on the verge of “economic collapse,” and negotiations for a loan of nearly
$1.9 billion from the International Monetary Fund have “stalled” over President
Kais Saied’s recent policies.
Elected
in 2019, Saied dissolved Parliament in July 2021, reformed the country’s
constitution to increase his presidential powers, and then held a referendum
followed by parliamentary elections with a very low turnout.
At
the beginning of this year he cracked down on dissent, arresting politicians,
labor union members, judges and members of civil society.
The
economic situation in Tunisia is dire, leading more and more people to try to reach
Italy on small boats.
Tajani
said Italy is “the most interested” in ensuring that “Tunisia solves its
problems and doesn’t become a failed state.”
He
added that the Italian government has been working hard to ensure that the IMF
and the World Bank help Tunisia.
“But
there’s a problem: The IMF, with the support of the US, says, ‘You first carry
out reforms, and then we’ll give the money.’ On the other hand, the Tunisians
say, ‘First the money and then the reforms’,” he said.
“This
is why we propose that the IMF gives immediately a first tranche of money; the
rest of the loan can be paid in line with the progress of reforms.”
Tajani
said the international community “can’t afford to make the mistake of leaving
Tunisia to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Stefania
Craxi, president of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Italian
Senate, told Arab News: “The Muslim Brotherhood will prosper if the grant
doesn’t come and the economy keeps going down.”
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2276331/middle-east
--------
Burkina
Faso blocks France 24 broadcasts over al-Qaeda interview
James
Tasamba
27.03.2023
Burkina
Faso’s military government said on Monday it has suspended France 24 broadcasts
after the TV station ran an interview with the head of the al-Qaeda terror
group’s North African wing.
The
channel aired an interview with YezidMebarek, head of al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM), earlier this month.
Mebarek,
also known as Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi, has been the leader of the terror
group since 2020 when French forces killed his predecessor in an operation.
By
interviewing Mebarek, France 24 “is not only acting as a mouthpiece for these
terrorists but worse, it is providing a space to legitimize terrorist actions
and hate speech,” Burkina Faso’s Communication Minister Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo
said in a statement.
The
minister said the Burkina Faso government does not contest the channel’s
editorial independence, but the interview put a spotlight on its “professional
ethics.”
“The
government has, therefore, decided, in all responsibility and in the best
interests of the nation, to immediately suspend the broadcasting of France 24
programs nationwide,” he said.
France
24, which is run by French state-owned holding company France Medias Monde,
deplored the move, saying it was based on “unfounded accusations.”
“The
channel never gave him the floor directly,” it said in a statement, arguing it
only reported Mebarek’s comments through a studio conversation with one of its
journalists.
The
decision was taken without notice and in disregard of the procedures provided
for in the broadcasting agreement the channel signed with Burkina Faso’s
communications regulator, the statement said.
In
December 2022, the Burkinabe government suspended Radio France International in
similar disregard of procedures, it added.
Relations
between France and Burkina Faso have soured since last September’s military
coup.
In
January, Burkina Faso ended its military pact with France, giving the former
colonial power one month to withdraw troops stationed in the country to help
fight insurgents.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Violent
protests in Kenya leave 1 dead, property damaged
Andrew
Wasike
27.03.2023
One
person was shot dead during anti-government protests in Migori, Western Kenya
on Monday as demonstrations against the high cost of living in Kenya entered
their second week.
George
Rae, the head of the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Hospital, confirmed the death to
reporters, saying the wounded person was shot twice, in the leg and chest area.
“He
was brought to the hospital by police, and later pronounced dead,” he said,
adding that the person is yet to be identified.
The
total number of people killed by police rises to three since the opposition
protests kicked off last week on Monday.
Meanwhile,
hundreds of people stormed and looted the farm of former President Uhuru
Kenyatta during the protests.
Opposition
leader Raila Odinga condemned the attack on the Northlands farm of the Kenyatta
family and the stoning of his gas plant, the East African Spectre Limited, both
of which were carried out on Monday by unknown intruders.
Human
rights activists have raised concerns over police brutality in Kenya following
the death of William Mayenga, a third-year student at Maseno University, who
was shot in the neck during protests near the school last Monday.
The
incidents have sparked renewed debate about police violence and the importance
of protecting freedoms of assembly and expression in the country.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/violent-protests-in-kenya-leave-1-dead-property-damaged/2856774
--------
Libya:
Haftar's army chief arrives in Tripoli to hold military meetings
Walid
Abdullah
27.03.2023
TRIPOLI,
Libya
A
military chief from eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar's army on Sunday
arrived in the capital Tripoli to attend a meeting of the 5+5 joint military
committee.
Abdel
Razek al-Nadori, Haftar's army chief, landed at Tripoli's Mitiga airport
escorted by a military delegation to attend the UN-sponsored meeting, Anadolu
learned.
It
is expected that al-Nadori will hold a meeting with Libyan Chief of General
Staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Haddad in the presence of the UN envoy to Libya,
Abdoulaye Bathily.
On
March 17, Bathily urged Libyan rivals to engage in talks to unify Libya's
military institutions, and to pave the way for a safe environment to hold the
country's long-awaited elections.
The
5+5 Joint Military Committee includes five members from the Libyan government
military in western Libya and five other members from Haftar's forces in the
east.
The
committee has been holding UN-sponsored meetings over the past two years to
ensure a continued cease-fire and hold talks on unifying the military in Libya.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North America
Canada
gov't report calls for training to stop tax bias toward Muslim charities
Barry
Ellsworth
27.03.2023
TRENTON,
Canada
A
new report released Monday says Canada’s tax department is ensnared in red tape
and a comprehensive review is impossible but it should provide training to end
“unconscious” bias when dealing with Muslim charities.
The
Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson report found that bias creeps in
unconsciously and training would “improve the CRA’s (Canada Revenue Agency’s)
services to both Muslim-led charities and charities in general.”
The
report also said there is so much red tape when dealing with the CRA that a
comprehensive review of its operations regarding charities is impossible.
“Despite
our best efforts, we encountered legislative and administrative obstacles that
prevented us from having the information we needed to conduct a comprehensive
examination and validate the information gathered from all sides,” said the
report, titled Charity Begins with Fairness: More to Explore.
"However,
regardless of these obstacles, we believe that this report identifies
opportunities for the CRA to improve the service it provides to
charities," said the report.
The
National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) has for years accused the CRA of
bias when it comes to Muslim charities.
It
said in a press release Monday that yet another planned review, this time by
the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, is overkill and would run
into the same red tape experienced by the Ombudsperson office.
“Thus,
we reject the notion of waiting for yet another review to tell us what we
already know,” the NCCM release said. “It is unfair to continue to subject
Muslim-led charities to unfair audit practises in the interim.”
The
problem is donations to charities are tax deductible. But if CRA audits find
charities may be misusing the funds for purposes such as financing terrorism,
it can suspend the charity’s tax-deductible status, seriously undermining
donations.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Khalilzad
does not speak for Biden administration: US State Dept official
March
28, 2023
State
Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel has clarified that former US envoy for
Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad did not represent the country’s foreign policy and
did not speak for the administration of President Jo Biden.
Patel’s
statement came in response to a question asked during a press briefing on
Monday (March 27) about Khalilzad’s recent statement regarding the political
situation in Pakistan.
Earlier
this month, Khalilzad — who had served as the special envoy for Afghan
reconciliation under both the Trump and Biden administrations — had said that
Pakistan was “underperforming and falling far behind” India.
“Pakistan
faces a triple crisis: political, economic, and security. Despite great
potential, it is underperforming and falling far behind its archrival, India.
It is time for serious soul-searching, bold thinking, and strategising,” he had
remarked.
The
former US ambassador had also criticised Pakistan for jailing its political
leaders — particularly hinting at the recent police attempts to arrest PTI
Chairman Imran Khan — and had proposed “two steps” to deal with the country’s
challenges the first being to set a date for general elections in early June to
“avert a meltdown”.
Commenting
on the matter in the press briefing today, Patel said that Khalilzad was a
private citizen.
“Any
social media activity or comments or tweets that you might reference, those are
done in his private capacity, does not represent US foreign policy, and he does
not speak for this administration,” he stated.
In
response to another question regarding the political “chaos” in Pakistan, the
spokesperson responded that any implication of violence, harassment or
intimidation had no place in politics.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US
will not back off Syria mission despite deadly attacks: White House
28
March ,2023
The
US will not back away from its nearly eight-year-old deployment to Syria, where
it is battling the remnants of ISIS, despite attacks on US forces there last
week by Iran-backed militia, the White House said on Monday.
A
one-way attack drone struck a US base in Syria on March 23, killing an American
contractor, injuring another and wounding five US troops.
That
triggered US retaliatory air strikes and exchanges of fire that a Syrian war
monitoring group said killed three Syrian troops, 11 Syrian fighters in
pro-government militias and five non-Syrian fighters who were aligned with the
government.
White
House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said he was not aware
of any additional attacks over the past 36 hours but cautioned, “We're going to
stay vigilant.”
Kirby
also referred to President Joe Biden's remarks on Friday, in which Biden warned
Iran that the US would act forcefully to protect Americans.
“There's
been no change in the US footprint in Syria as a result of what happened the
last few days,” Kirby said, adding the mission against ISIS would continue.
“We're
not going to be deterred ... by these attacks from these militant groups.”
Syria's
foreign ministry on Sunday condemned US strikes, saying Washington had lied
about what was targeted and pledging to “end the American occupation” of its
territory.
Iran's
foreign ministry also condemned the strikes, accusing US forces of targeting
“civilian sites.”
US
forces first deployed into Syria during the Obama administration's campaign
against ISIS partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces.
There are about 900 US troops in Syria, most of them in the east.
Prior
to the latest spate of attacks, US troops in Syria had been attacked by
Iranian-backed groups about 78 times since the beginning of 2021, according to
the US military.
Iran
has been a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during Syria's
12-year conflict.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Canada
imposes new sanctions against Iran over protests, drones
27
March ,2023
The
Canadian government said on Monday it was targeting two entities and eight
individuals as part of new sanctions against Iran over human rights violations
and production of drones and ballistic missiles.
Canada’s
latest round of sanctions against Iran, the 10th since October, targets
individuals including senior officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) and Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) for “gross and systematic human
rights violations” in Tehran and northwestern Iran, the Canadian foreign
ministry said in a statement.
Sanctions
also target senior Iranian officials involved in unmanned aerial vehicle and
ballistic missile production, the ministry said.
Tension
between Iran and the West have mounted over Tehran’s nuclear activity and its
supply of drones for Russia’s war in Ukraine, as well as the Islamic Republic’s
clampdown on months of anti-government-protests. Tehran denies selling drones
to Moscow for use in the Ukraine war.
“We
call on the Iranian regime to stop the brutal oppression of Iran’s people and
to address their demands in good faith,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in
the statement.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism